Charanjit Meharu one of 12 provincial crime prevention award recipients for his tireless efforts on and off the clock
Const. Charanjit Meharu, left, of the Calgary Police Service with police Chief Rick Hanson |
Calgary- While growing up in India, Charanjit Meharu dreamed of becoming a police officer.
It took a move across the world and a decade working in the private sector before Meharu achieved his childhood fantasy.
Since joining the Calgary Police Service in 2006, Meharu has worked tirelessly to serve the people of northeast Calgary.
His own experience as an immigrant and an ability to speak seven languages has helped Meharu communicate with different cultural groups and show new Canadians that the police serve all Calgarians.
On Friday, Meharu was recognized for making the city’s streets safer at the 21st annual Alberta Crime Prevention Awards at Calgary’s McDougall Centre.
“Everybody wants the same thing — a place where you can raise your families safely, a place where you can go to school, where you can work, where you can do all that and feel safe,” police Chief Rick Hanson told the audience before Meharu and 11 others received awards.
Community organizations, individuals, police officers, a reporter and a business were celebrated for their work in reducing and preventing crime in Alberta.
“We find people that go over and above their role in their community and we’ve seen people from very diverse backgrounds, very diverse neighbourhoods, that have all contributed to community safety,” said Jonathan Denis, the province’s justice minister and solicitor general.
A strong desire to help others has motivated Meharu to work long hours and attend community meetings to tell Calgarians what police can do for them.
“I spent thousands of hours every year, on my own time, my days off, going to community events, bringing awareness, speaking about current issues and bringing my colleagues, my superiors, up to speed with what is going on,” Meharu said.
After immigrating to Montreal in 1995, the father of two pushed aside his dream of becoming a police officer.
“First I had to establish myself. I had a family, so I had to take care of my family,” he said.
Meharu, who came to Canada with a master’s degree in commerce and administration, applied to over 600 companies in Montreal but struggled to find a job.
He eventually found part-time menial work and, before long, Meharu had worked his way up to supervisor, then manager, then CEO of a private firm.
After a decade in the private sector, Meharu felt it was time to move on and finally accomplish his childhood dream.
In 2006, he took a “huge pay cut” and moved to Calgary to become a police officer.
The 39-year-old constable has encouraged residents to report criminal activity to police and attended multiple community events, including parades and kabaddi tournaments.
An ability to connect with others while speaking languages that include Hindi, Punjabi and French has helped Meharu build relationships with new Calgarians and show them police are their ally.
“You have to be human first,” he said. “Languages, they all come second. If you’re human first, you get connected to people.”
Winning a Crime Prevention Award, for his hard work as a police officer in northeast Calgary, was a validation of the effort Meharu puts into a job he dreamed about for decades.
Since joining the Calgary Police Service in 2006, Meharu has worked tirelessly to serve the people of northeast Calgary.
His own experience as an immigrant and an ability to speak seven languages has helped Meharu communicate with different cultural groups and show new Canadians that the police serve all Calgarians.
On Friday, Meharu was recognized for making the city’s streets safer at the 21st annual Alberta Crime Prevention Awards at Calgary’s McDougall Centre.
“Everybody wants the same thing — a place where you can raise your families safely, a place where you can go to school, where you can work, where you can do all that and feel safe,” police Chief Rick Hanson told the audience before Meharu and 11 others received awards.
Community organizations, individuals, police officers, a reporter and a business were celebrated for their work in reducing and preventing crime in Alberta.
“We find people that go over and above their role in their community and we’ve seen people from very diverse backgrounds, very diverse neighbourhoods, that have all contributed to community safety,” said Jonathan Denis, the province’s justice minister and solicitor general.
A strong desire to help others has motivated Meharu to work long hours and attend community meetings to tell Calgarians what police can do for them.
“I spent thousands of hours every year, on my own time, my days off, going to community events, bringing awareness, speaking about current issues and bringing my colleagues, my superiors, up to speed with what is going on,” Meharu said.
After immigrating to Montreal in 1995, the father of two pushed aside his dream of becoming a police officer.
“First I had to establish myself. I had a family, so I had to take care of my family,” he said.
Meharu, who came to Canada with a master’s degree in commerce and administration, applied to over 600 companies in Montreal but struggled to find a job.
He eventually found part-time menial work and, before long, Meharu had worked his way up to supervisor, then manager, then CEO of a private firm.
After a decade in the private sector, Meharu felt it was time to move on and finally accomplish his childhood dream.
In 2006, he took a “huge pay cut” and moved to Calgary to become a police officer.
The 39-year-old constable has encouraged residents to report criminal activity to police and attended multiple community events, including parades and kabaddi tournaments.
An ability to connect with others while speaking languages that include Hindi, Punjabi and French has helped Meharu build relationships with new Calgarians and show them police are their ally.
“You have to be human first,” he said. “Languages, they all come second. If you’re human first, you get connected to people.”
Winning a Crime Prevention Award, for his hard work as a police officer in northeast Calgary, was a validation of the effort Meharu puts into a job he dreamed about for decades.
“(My job) is amazing. It is awesome. You have to like what you do,” he said.
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