Prince George, B.C. – RCMP Deputy Commissioner Peter Henschel is in Prince George this weekend, and while he will be officiating at the Musical Ride on Saturday and Sunday, he has spent   a lot of time checking in with the front line members in P.G.

 

Now stationed at RCMP Headquarters in Ottawa, he is responsible for a Specialized Policing, which encompasses a number of areas including the Canadian Firearms Program, the Canadian Police College, Forensic Science and Indent Services .  He says it is important for him to remain connected to the front lines, “To make informed decisions , to make sure we are moving those programs in the right direction, you need to stay connected to the front lines to make sure that stays relevant and that we are looking ahead to see what the upcoming needs are to make sure we re ahead of the curve as opposed to trying to catch up.”

 

Deputy Commissioner Henschel worked part of a shift with   the officers on shift last night. “I was very clear, do what you normally do, tell me whatever is going on, tell me the things you like about your job how are things here, what are the frustrations, what are the challenges?” While it would be easy to say those on shift might have held back ( afterall, Henschel is a Deputy Commissioner) he says the conversations were relaxed and open “I was so impressed, I had some really good conversations with the members.” 

 

 

He offered high praise for the   members serving in Prince George and those in the top ranks “You have phenomenal leadership here in Prince George, both at the detachment and the District level, and that’s really evident for me, coming in to a place, you get that sense about how the leadership is, how the morale is, it’s very positive.”

 

He had returned to Prince George in the late 90’s working security detail for then Governor General Romeo LeBlanc, but says he has seen significant changes in the city over the years.   Today’s police work involves more social work, something  he says he didn’t imagine when he started with the RCMP “When I look at how, through here at the local level we’re doing community policing, the prolific offender  program or domestic violence, the different specialty areas we are looking at and how we’re attacking the problems, we’re not just looking at it as pure policing enforcement or prevention, we’re looking at it as a much broader community perspective to say, how do we engage other key stakeholders in the community to deal with the cause of the problem to make it a safer environment?”  

 

“Policing has evolved, the way we are dealing with it, here locally it has evolved, there are a lot of things that remain the same in policing, but man, there are a lot of things that have changed, for the better.”

 

So what is the one thing he thinks the RCMP can be doing better? His visit here hasn’t been long enough for him to formulate any specific improvements locally, but, as an organization, Deputy Commissioner Henschel says  the biggest challenge the RCMP faces, organizationally is, communication “It doesn’t matter how much you communicate, or how well you communicate, its never going to be good enough. I think that’s an area we can always do better.” 

 

“You have a wonderful community” says the Deputy Commissioner  “My best memories are from here, and I do miss it. It’s the excitement of being out there on the front lines dealing with people directly, dealing with issues and challenges, and making a difference.”