An interview with the Commanding Officer of the Saskatchewan RCMP

En français :    • Entrevue avec la commandante divisionnaire...   Webpage: rcmp-grc.ca/89497 --- TEXT: An interview with the Commanding Officer of the Saskatchewan RCMP (Commanding Officer sitting at desk) A/Commr Blackmore: My name is Rhonda Blackmore, I am the Commanding Officer for the Saskatchewan RCMP, what the RCMP knows as “F” Division and I am at the Assistant Commissioner rank in this position. TEXT: A/Commr Rhonda Blackmore comes to Saskatchewan most recently from Alberta RCMP. She started her work as the Commanding Officer in our province in early April. TEXT: She wanted to take a few moments to introduce herself. TEXT: What experience does growing up in rural Canada bring to your new role? A/Commr. Blackmore: So I’m a farm kid from mid-western Ontario, a little bit different farm there than what you would typically find in Saskatchewan, but same sort of concept and same sort of mentality when you grow up a farm kid. I’m one of six kids, and second oldest. I have five brothers, which I think helped shape significantly who I am. The atmosphere you grow up in, in rural Canada, and I think anyone who has grown up in that environment would agree, you’re very reliant on your neighbours, one another. Growing up, it was a big piece of our upbringing from my parents to ensure that we were brought up in an atmosphere of helping our neighbours, helping each other, making sure that when our hay was in, we went to the neighbours and helped them if they didn’t have as much help. I grew up with five brothers so we kind of came with our own workforce when we showed up, when the Diebel kids showed up at the neighbours, they were generally happy to see the extra hands show up. So in that respect, you have that mentality of neighbours helping neighbours. But you also have that leg up if you know what a combine is and you know what a cultivator looks like and those types of things I guess. So you have that little bit of knowledge to know what you’re talking about when you’re having those conversations with people from rural areas. TEXT: Tell us about your connection to the province. Where have you been posted in Saskatchewan? A/Commr Blackmore: I had a great career. My time in here in F Division I started in Regina where all Mounties come to, to Depot for training. My first posting was Assiniboia in the southern part of the province where I was two years and transferred to what was then known as Regina Detachment, now White Butte. Came to Regina and was posted there three years. Then I went up north to Buffalo Narrows and I was there just over two years, a little over two years – two and a half almost; policing in Buffalo Narrows, in northern Saskatchewan. Certainly each area brings a little bit different experience for your policing career, for sure. Assiniboia was relatively quiet, but gave me a good opportunity to have that good foundation of policing, learning investigations, having the opportunity to refer to policy, look up information, if I needed it, and relied on some really great-quality members. My trainer was outstanding; she was a great mentor for me to have as my first mentor within the RCMP. Then coming to Regina, obviously a lot bigger, a lot bigger file types, generally and more experience. And then went up north where we were quite busy, and had again a different experience. Less services available to you, so you have to be a bit more creative because you don’t have necessarily those services at your fingertips. You learn to think outside the box to ensure you have a fulsome response and deliver the policing services you need to. TEXT: After her time in Buffalo Narrows, A/Commr Blackmore went on to work in Ottawa. There, she supported front line operations in many areas with the Emergency Response Team, Crisis Negotiator Coordinator, National Police Intervention Program, Protective Policing, Officer in Charge of Traffic Services, Operational Communications Centre, Operational Policy Centre, among others. TEXT: She went on to spend time as an Inspector with the Ottawa Police Service. A/Commr Blackmore: And from Ottawa I went to Grande Prairie Alberta as the District Officer for what’s known there as Western Alberta District. In that role, was responsible for 24 detachments. Approximately 440 regular members in that area and got to work with incredible individuals both within the organization and external to the organization there. And from there, had an opportunity to come back to Saskatchewan. Even though I’m originally from Ontario, coming back to Saskatchewan is a little bit like coming home. There’s lots of familiarity, even though the faces and names have changed in a lot of cases, its coming back to that familiarity and the one thing that in the short time I’ve been here, I’ve noticed what hasn’t changed, is the hospitality of people within Saskatchewan.