The new commander of the Kelowna RCMP is coming into a detachment which has seen a lot of public scrutiny as of late.
Lawsuits, controversies and even criminal charges against officers have plagued the detachment over the past couple of years as local Mounties have faced allegations of excessive force, sexual assault and more.
Their new boss, Supt. Kara Triance, said she has high expectations for her officers going forward.
Triance began her role as the commander of the Kelowna Regional Detachment, which oversees Kelowna, West Kelowna, Peachland and Lake Country, last week. She said good police conduct is of the utmost importance.
㽶ƵֱWe can not afford to get it wrong,㽶Ƶֱ said Triance in a Tuesday, Nov. 3 interview with the Capital News. 㽶ƵֱBecause with every wrong we have (to do) a lot of right to undo that.㽶Ƶֱ
In the past year, the Kelowna RCMP has dealt with community backlash over its high number of sexual assault reports deemed 㽶Ƶֱunfounded㽶Ƶֱ, highly publicized incidents showing alleged excessive force used by officers, all as at least two Mounties 㽶Ƶֱ one who㽶Ƶֱs currently suspended and one former 㽶Ƶֱ make their way through court on criminal charges and others face civil lawsuits.
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Those high-profile incidents that the detachment is currently dealing with have presented some 㽶Ƶֱdeeply concerning issues,㽶Ƶֱ Triance said. She hopes to maintain a more transparent relationship with both the media and public, saying she will provide this as those matters progress, but mentioned such issues can get 㽶Ƶֱvery complex.㽶Ƶֱ
㽶ƵֱThe totality of what we㽶Ƶֱre dealing with includes a review of each one of those incidents: A look at the supervision; the leadership 㽶Ƶֱ right from the lowest level of a non-commissioned officer to my position 㽶Ƶֱ (with which) we manage our employees.㽶Ƶֱ
She said the question essentially boils down to this: 㽶ƵֱAt what point did we fail to uphold to (our) objectives and wherein that system did we break down?㽶Ƶֱ
While acknowledging the concerns of the public, Triance said overall, the officers at the detachment are doing good police work.
㽶ƵֱThere are people who are very proud to do their work and they take their jobs very seriously.㽶Ƶֱ
Noting the detachment㽶Ƶֱs struggles in recent years with sexual assault reports, Triance said she㽶Ƶֱs looking forward to working with Kelowna㽶Ƶֱs four-officer sexual assault unit, which was introduced in March. She helped build similar teams in Whistler and Squamish when she headed the RCMP㽶Ƶֱs Sea-to-Sky detachment.
㽶ƵֱThose dedicated officers, with the unique skill set that they bring, to be able to provide services to survivors of sexual assault and to investigate very complex and serious files, are an incredible asset to those detachments.㽶Ƶֱ
With almost 200 police officers under her command, Triance hopes to improve the culture within the detachment, stressing the need for strong values, conduct, professionalism, respect and integrity.
㽶ƵֱIt㽶Ƶֱs not that we go out and do the job, it㽶Ƶֱs how we do the job. For me, that starts with an internal look and investment in my employees.㽶Ƶֱ
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Do you have something to add to this story, or something else we should report on? Email: michael.rodriguez@kelownacapnews.com
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