"Have you been drinking?' asks a familiar voice.
You look past the flashlight shining in your eyes on this blustery winter night into the face of your neighbour, Brenda Sinnott.
Sinnott, one of eight auxiliary police on the Sunshine Coast, spends a minimum of 160 hours per year volunteering with the local RCMP.
And with an RCMP force of 31 officers to police the entire Sunshine Coast, Sinnott and her fellow volunteers are much appreciated by the members of the detachment.
The local operations NCO, Sgt. Danny Willis, said the auxiliaries "provide a service to community programs that wouldn't happen without them."
Willis knows the role of an auxiliary well. He was one 27 years ago in Colwood, B.C. And although the program has changed over the years, the level of commitment the force and the volunteers make to each other hasn't.
Anyone becoming a member of the auxiliary must usually be 25 or older, have passed a criminal record check and be accepted by the RCMP. Then 200 hours of in-house training take place.
Even after the training it can take some time for the volunteer to feel comfortable.
Sinnott recalls the first time she accompanied an RCMP member. The evening was a quiet one until just before the officer was going to drop the Gibsons woman off at home.
Then the pair stopped a driver somewhat the worse for drink who accused Sinnott of being a "rent-a-cop." The driver went on to tell Sinnott that he didn't have to listen to her. The RCMP officer quickly put him in his place when he informed the driver that he did indeed have to listen to Sinnott, and furthermore, the driver was now under arrest.
After that Sinnott never again questioned her role in police enforcement.
Although she has been involved in road checks and other patrols, especially during special events such as Sea Cavalcade, her primary role in the auxiliary is in the youth program. She recently organized a basketball game between the RCMP, students and teachers, an event Willis called a great success.
Sinnott has always been interested in law enforcement.
"I've even considered becoming a regular member," she said. "But my kids are young so it didn't work out."
"I'm not one to sit idle, so when the ad [for auxiliary members] came out in the paper, I applied. If I'm going to do a volunteer position, it might as well be exciting," she added.
Another local RCMP officer who was an auxiliary member is Const. Kurt Rosenberg. Currently the longest serving Sunshine Coast member, Rosenberg has been on the Coast for the past seven and a half years.
He grew up in Nelson and was a reserve constable there with the Nelson city police. The difference between the reserve and auxiliary programs is that the reserves are tied to a city police force and the auxiliaries to the RCMP. But according to Rosenberg, the programs are identical because the province of B.C administers them both.
Rosenberg has a great deal of respect for the local auxiliary.
"They're an asset to the department," he said.
The youngest Sunshine Coast auxiliary is contemplating a career with the RCMP.
Ryan Posnikoff, 21, was a summer student last year at the local detachment. He went through two weeks of intensive training in Chilliwack. Once he was back on the Sunshine Coast, he had a regular watch with his mentor, Const. Jan Campbell.
"She was excellent to work with. She introduced me to this whole career which I never even considered before," Posnikoff said.
Right now the long-time Coast resident is finishing a degree in political science at UBC.
Another woman who volunteers as an auxiliary is an insurance agent. Kelly Bell works primarily in traffic control. Both Bell and Posnikoff have participated in bike rodeos at local schools. The four-hour events teach students about bike safety.
Peter Hart is a relative newcomer to the Coast. His regular job is at Sunshine GM. On the auxiliary, his role is crime prevention through environmental design. In that capacity he is attached to a liaison officer who has had special training in that area. Hart and the officer help people and businesses be proactive to crime rather than reactive.
He's also participated in Sea Cavalcade policing and the May Day events in Pender Harbour and has been part of the annual Kindergarten Fair a few times.
Another member of the auxiliary, Patrick Higgins, is a volunteer fireman as well. Other members of the auxiliary include Suzette Stevenson, Tina Lockhart and Graeham Stewart.
The next time an officer shines a flashlight in your face, don't be surprised if the hand holding it belongs to your neighbour, one of the Sunshine Coast's hardworking auxiliary constables.
