RCMP Superintendent Leaving Prince George

Tuesday, October 07, 2008 05:29 PM

Prince George, B.C.- Opinion 250 has learned, Superintendent Dahl Chambers, the officer in charge of the Prince George RCMP detachment has asked for, and has been granted, a transfer.

He is taking a position with E Division’s Criminal operations office in Vancouver.

Chambers’ has been with the Prince George detachment for 9 years, and has been the Superintendent in charge for five. September marked the end of his five year commitment to that post.

Five years at the helm is the standard time for a Superintendent, and 9 years at one post is longer than the norm.

During his tenure, Superintendent Chambers brought about several new programs , here are some of the highlights:

· a crime analyst was brought on board,

· the number of officers increased from 121 to 128.

· Three reservists were brought on stream to conduct foot patrols downtown

· Community Policing was revised and developed to handle special programs

· Community safety officers were added

· Crime reduction strategy was adopted which saw an increased focus on the 5% of the offenders who commit 50% of the crime

· Developed diversion program for aboriginal youth

· With John Howard Society, Instituted the John School and developed a new program for abusive

· Worked to foster better understanding of the sex trade for both sides of the issue

· A pawn shop bylaw was developed to prevent and protect second hand dealers and pawn shops from dealing in stolen goods

· Partnerships were developed with Fire, bylaw and health authorities to close down crack shacks

· Increased patrols in the VLA and worked with residents to identify crack shacks

· Developed program for crime free multi housing areas

· Worked on the development of a holistic approach for dealing with prolific offenders

· Worked in the development of the new RCMP building which will be built at the corner of 4^th and Victoria.

· Brought the detachment on to the PRIME system which, through computerization, allows officers real time crime data, and allows them to file reports from the patrol vehicles.

· Had the detachment working with Partners for a Healthy Downtown in understanding the needs of all clients, whether they be in an office, or sleeping on a bench

Although his time in Prince George was marred by three substantiated claims of harassment, (for which he was disciplined) under his leadership, crime numbers dropped dramatically. Critics say it is because people don’t report crime anymore, but the barometer for success in crime reduction includes auto theft, and break and enter and theft, which people are quick to report because of the insurance implications. For both of those categories, the numbers are down substantially.

Superintendent Chambers is expected to start his new duties in Vancouver by the end of this year, or in early 2009.

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Posted on Tuesday, October 07, 2008 05:29 PM in News by 250 News

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Comments

Posted by: lmorg on October 7 2008 5:53 PM

I don't feel many of these programs were originated strictly by Supt. Chambers...they were already in effect at other detachments...he just agreed to implement similarly in prince george. As for PRIME, it wasnt supt chambers that brought the detachment onto this system....Rich Coleman the previous AG of the province made it law for all police agencies to be on PRIME. Even though the rest of the country uses a different system to share information.

Let's hope the morale at the detachment can perk up now and the new Supt. is more of a people person.

Posted by: MrPG on October 7 2008 6:58 PM

I can't say that I'm surprised given the revelations of the past few months.

Posted by: slick-rick on October 7 2008 7:38 PM

See you around Dahl. I never do trust guys with women's names or the other way around.

Posted by: lostfaith on October 7 2008 9:01 PM

Don't forget all the community policing offices he closed down around town.

Posted by: Spikepg on October 7 2008 9:39 PM

It is a sad day when a community leader as such gets a slap on the wrist for harrassing his employees, and then gets a big fat promotion. Glad he is gone, hopefully his replacement will treat the people working with him with more respect and dignity.

Posted by: lmorg on October 8 2008 8:35 AM

Crime stats down under his watch? Stats are decieving. I still say there is a ton of crime in PG and its getting worse. ( 2 dead today on webber crescent!!??) But to be fair, there is only so much the police can do...if the gangs or someone else are going to break the law they've made a conscious decision to do so. Having a crime analyst only tells you what type, when and where most of the stuff is happening in town.

Posted by: lostfaith on October 8 2008 9:42 AM

Not trying to defend Chambers, but the RCMP can only do what our legislators allow them to do. Having said that some Cops do things they shouldn't.

Everything we all see as wrong in our society can be taken care of if our Govt had the brass to do so.

Taking care of all these problems we have in our society the way they should be taken care of would mean a loss of revenue for the lawyers in or midst.
Therefore don't hold your breathe if you are going to wait for change.

Posted by: Harbinger on October 8 2008 12:40 PM

A change is better than a rest.

Posted by: tinyapplecork on October 8 2008 2:30 PM

Rumors, opinions & negative publicity aside...

Thanks for 9 years of service. Best wishes in your new post. Fresh post, fresh start :)