Reserve Constable Tristan Pakosh finished five times the usual amount of volunteer hours one month. On June 24, he received a Civic Service Award from the Victoria Police Department for the 100 hours of volunteer work. He was nominated by the coordinator of the program, Constable Ryan Wilson.
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The volunteer work that led to his award involved field training the new Reserve class. Pakosh was an instructor for physical training and an assistant drill instructor. He guided the recruits through exercises, team building and marching.
Doing 100 hours wasn’t his goal and he’s certain he hasn’t broken the record, but he’s proud of the work he’s done.
Pakosh has known he wanted to work in policing for a long time. He started in the Reserve Program after stepping in when he witnessed a man knock out his girlfriend outside of a sushi restaurant. Pakosh made sure the woman was alright and held the man in an arrest position until the police arrived. The officer on scene recommended that he apply for the program.
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Pakosh is working on a Criminology diploma at Camosun college and works full time in security. On top of that, he manages to complete many hours of volunteering for the Reserve Constable program. He builds his schedule carefully and doesn’t have much time for anything else. Pakosh says he was often made fun of for being so busy, but he doesn’t mind. For him, it’s about “being passionate and making time for something that matters.”
Pakosh is grateful for the experiences he’s had through the program and for the award.
“I’m gracious to the department and members who invest their time into the Reserves. It means a lot and I want to pay it back to the community I’m a part of,” he says. “I highly recommend the program to anyone who has an interest in the police.”
Pakosh plans to be done his diploma by the end of 2020. He will continue with the Reserve program until he gets a job with a police department.
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