The Midland Police Service has two new recruits – and they’re both homegrown.

Const. Christopher Paul and Const. Peter Hunter are the newest additions.

Police Chief Paul Hamelin, who was also raised here and whose roots go back more than 100 years in the area, says growing up in the community in which they serve will be an asset.

“When I came back (after 10 years in London), I found it to be a benefit,” Hamelin noted. “People knew me, and if they didn’t know me personally, they knew my family.”

Respecting the people who you are policing is one of the key things to remember when policing a community that consists of your friends, family and neighbours, he says.

“If you treat people with respect, for the most part, they don’t look at it as a personal thing,” he says, noting he has found himself in the situation of having to arrest people he knows in the past. “It’s different for every officer, but I never found it to be a hindrance.”

In the case of his newest recruits, Hamelin says he is certain they will use their knowledge of the area to help them better serve the area.

“It’s always nice to provide employment to people within the community. They will definitely have a better feel for the make up of the area if they know it. They’ll know all the nuances, the ethnic and economic perspective ... it will make it easier.”

Paul graduated from the Ontario Police College in Aylmer on April 4. He and Hunter will be spending the next few months working with training officers until they are ready to go out on their own.

This is not Paul’s first stint with the Midland Police Service. He started with the department as a student before being hired as a part-time special constable – a civilian position that allowed him certain authority.

Hunter spent four years with the York Regional Police Department.

“He’s another young man who is bright and fresh and who is knowledgeable of the area.”