Nunavut RCMP’s new digs officially open

CHRIS WINDEYER Nunavut May 31, 2010 - 9:40 pm

RCMP deputy commissioner Rod Krecht, right, cuts the ribbon with an ulu to declare that the new RCMP building in Iqaluit is now officially open. Looking on are, from left, Chief Superintendent Steve McVarnock, Nunavut Commissioner Edna Elias, Premier Eva Aariak, and Justice Minister Keith Peterson. (PHOTO BY CHRIS WINDEYER)

Nunavut’s RCMP division officially opened on May 31 its new Iqaluit headquarters building, which top brass hope will boost morale and help police do their jobs better. Chief Superintendent Steve McVarnock told reporters that rolling more police operations into the new building on Federal Road will help police officers better communicate with each other more. “It’s bringing everyone together and I can’t stress enough how important that is,” McVarnock said. “You can get segregated even in a city the size of 7,000 [with officers split] between three buildings.” The RCMP currently inhabits three separate offices around the city.McVarnock said that will shrink to two, when plainclothes officers who investigate serious crimes, drugs and federal issues move into the new facility. McVarnock’s office will stay in the Igluvut building at Iqaluit’s Four Corners intersection.

The new office was built as a state of the art facility, with a high-tech communications room, dedicated space for the forensic examination of vehicles and a residual heating system to reduce power consumption. The men’s room is even fitted with a waterless urinal. The new building has fewer cells than the old detachment, with 12 beds, plus two holding rooms for severely intoxicated people. The old building could hold a total of 30 prisoners. But McVarnock said the new rooms are easier for officers on duty to monitor. “We’ll be fine. We’ll be able to manage,” he said.

A second phase of the detachment, which McVarnock said would likely start construction in three years, would house dormitories, training facilities and a gym. Right now, a 25-metre firing range is serving as space for the gym. It will become an actual working firing range when the second phase is completed, McVarnock said. Krecht said he hopes the building will serve as a beacon to attract northerners to the Mounties. “They see a building like this and they say, ‘Gee I wouldn’t mind working in a building like this,’” he said. The old building, on Astro Hill, “has served its purpose, but it’s old, it’s tired, it doesn’t meet current standards in a lot of areas,” McVarnock said. “It’s a big morale booster for a lot of the members who were working in less than ideal circumstances,” he said. The board of the Uquutaq men’s shelter is attempting to take over the old RCMP detachment building.

Not enough cops in Iqaluit, RCMP boss says

GABRIEL ZÁRATE NEWS: Nunavut March 14, 2010 - 3:12 pm

Though Iqaluit’s RCMP detachment will be almost fully staffed for the next few years, there still aren’t enough cops in town to meet the rising demand for police services, Steve McVarnock, the chief superintendent of Nunavut’s V division, said last week. McVarnock said a standard analysis of the city’s population growth and the detachment’s workload showed the detachment needs more RCMP members. Last January, McVarnock received the RCMP’s estimate for Iqaluit’s police needs, based on crime statistics 2007-08 crime statistics.

The report found Iqaluit needs more RCMP members. McVarnock would not disclose the estimated staffing recommendation, saying it’s an internal RCMP document. In 2008, Iqaluit police received 10,733 calls for service. In 2009, they received 13,624 calls, a recent RCMP presentation to the city council reported. Those 2009 numbers haven’t been included in the RCMP’s recent estimate, so McVarnock says the numbers in the staffing estimate aren’t high enough. And 2010 has been busy so far too. McVarnock said there had been a lot of drug and alcohol seizures, a product of the RCMP’s nationwide freeze on leave during the Vancouver Olympics. Even so, McVarnock said the Iqaluit detachment’s size won’t increase in the 2010-2011 fiscal year.

Ironically, McVarnock said V Division has a waiting list of RCMP members who want to serve in Nunavut. He said some 300 RCMP members have expressed interest in Nunavut. As a result, all of V Division’s positions will be filled next year, except for those that require a promotion, because of administrative delays.

Nunavut Mountie murder trial begins in case that changed Arctic policing

February 21, 2010 |Bob Weber, THE CANADIAN PRESS

The trial of a man charged with shooting an RCMP officer who was on solo duty in a remote Arctic community is scheduled to begin Monday. No matter how the first-degree murder case against Pingoatuk (Ping) Kolola turns out, the death of Const. Douglas Scott has already helped changed policing in the North, says Chief Supt. Steve McVarnock, head of the RCMP in Nunavut.

"No community is left with one police officer in that community alone," he says. McVarnock is relatively new to his job as the territory's top Mountie, but not to the Arctic. He first came north in 1982, back when Iqaluit was still called Frobisher Bay. Things were different then. "It was very common to be by yourself when your partner went out (of town)," McVarnock said. "Usually they would go out for three or four weeks at a time and you would be it for that community. "You work, live and breathe it 24-7. I've been in those situations, when a plane comes in and there's alcohol on the plane and you know you're going to be called out. I've laid in my bed in blue trousers and a white T-shirt with my gear at the door, staring at the phone. "I just knew it was going to ring."

That was the situation facing Scott in November 2007, when he was fatally shot while responding alone to a drunk-driving call that came into the two-person detachment in Kimmirut, Nunavut. It was only a month after Const. Christopher Worden, 30, had been shot and killed as he responded on his own to a call early in the morning in the community of Hay River, N.W.T. Emrah Bulatci has since been convicted of first-degree murder in Worden's death. Within weeks of the two deaths, the RCMP instituted a new backup policy. Mounties attending any call with a threat of violence now must travel in pairs. Off-duty officers have to back up anyone working alone.

McVarnock says the North has changed since he was walking the beat. The safety of solo officers is no longer a given. "We didn't have the level of alcohol abuse or violence that's now experienced in some communities," says McVarnock, who adds that Nunavut's crime rate is seven times that of southern Canada. "Violence has escalated over the past decade and our organization has evolved as a result." Even before Worden and Scott were killed, Nunavut RCMP had created a pool of officers that could be flown in from Iqaluit to back up detachments. Since then, eight new officers have been hired at an annual cost of $2.4 million. Yukon and the Northwest Territories have each made a similar move at similar expense. McVarnock says the force is also looking for ways to add an extra officer to at least some of its 15 two-officer detachments in Nunavut. Southern officers can be brought North for 30-day relief postings. "We have actually attracted many members to northern duty as a result of that program," he says. "I refer to it as a 30-day test drive."

The money also makes northern policing attractive. Because members in two-officer detachments are on call even when they're off shift, they are paid at some level virtually around the clock and can earn up to 70 per cent more than their basic wage. "It's now becoming very, very attractive for members to come up here," McVarnock says. "That has really enhanced the marketability of doing a tour in V Division." Still, Kolola's trial is a reminder that policing remains inherently risky. That's true anywhere, says McVarnock, but it is especially true in the North."You never know up here. What may seem a very minor call for service could escalate into something totally unsuspected. "No call is taken lightly in the North."

RCMP tours of duty increased to four years

Kassina Ryder Northern News Services Published Monday, November 9, 2009

NUNAVUT - RCMP officers will be stationed in Nunavut for four years instead of two, based on a decision made by the territory's top cop in October.

RCMP V division commander Supt. Steve McVarnock in his office in Iqaluit on Nov. 3, 2009. McVarnock and other officials decided to increase RCMP terms in Nunavut to four years. - Kassina Ryder/NNSL photo

"I made that decision based on consultation with headquarters in Edmonton," said Supt. Steve McVarnock, commander of RCMP V Division . Officers will spend two years in a community then rotate to another community within the territory for the remaining two years, McVarnock said. But, if an officer in Iqaluit wanted to join a specialized unit in Iqaluit, that option could be made available."You could do two years in Iqaluit and move on to a specialized unit depending on what opportunities are at the time," he said.

Officers who complete the first two years in a two-unit detachment in a smaller community will have the opportunity to finish their term in a detachment with more members, or vice versa. This will help reduce officer burnout, McVarnock said. "These members that are in small communities, especially two-member posts, you live it 24/7 you don't get a break," he said. "Two years they can do it, then they need a change. They can go to Rankin Inlet or Cambridge Bay where you're not there 24/7, you do get nights off because you have more members there." The increase will mean officers will have more time to become familiarized with Inuit culture and strengthen relationships with communities, McVarnock said. "If you're coming up every two years then going back South, that's a lot of cultural orientation that you're going through and you lose that connectedness to the community," he said.

Cape Dorset mayor Carey Merritt said he agreed officers spending more time in the territory is good, but it still means communities will lose RCMP officers after two years. "It's not going to resolve the problem for a community losing that connection," he said. "To me, it would probably be better if (the four-year term) was just in one community because they get to know the citizens." Merritt said the relationship between municipal council and RCMP, along with community members, would be better strengthened if officers were placed in one community for a longer term. "They pay monthly visits to our council meetings to give us updates," he said. "It also gives us a chance to give them some feedback.""When they're moving out every two years you're starting over."

McVarnock said the extension means more officers who want to join specialized units such as the drug unit or emergency response team can be trained in the south then return to Nunavut. The two-year term often prevented the division from retaining permanent specialized officers, McVarnock said. "What we did find was we were losing a lot of continuity of expertise within the territory," he said. "If you get somebody up in the division who has been here for eight or nine months and they have an interest in going in the drug section, it's pretty hard to invest a lot of time and money into them to know you're going to lose them in a little over a year. What you're basically doing is training them for another province or territory." McVarnock said one of the most important aspects of the change will be increasing the capability of the emergency response team."That's a very important capacity to have in the division," he said. "If you can't invest in it, you have to rely on the south to send it up during a time of crisis. That can have a very tragic outcome, waiting for resources to fly up from the south."

There will also be incentives for officers signing on a four-year term, McVarnock said. Officers can prearrange to rotate to anywhere in Canada once they have completed their time in Nunavut, he said. Officers in small communities will now be paid one hour for every four hours they are on call, McVarnock said. "When you put those two things together, that's pretty attractive and I think we're going to do well in attracting people up here in the years to come."

Coroner’s inquest likely in Nova Hotel death

NEWS: Iqaluit September 16, 2009 - 10:52 am CHRIS WINDEYER

RCMP Supt. Steve McVarnock says he expects there will be a coroner’s inquest into an Iqaluit woman’s death after being in police custody. “That’s a way for the facts to come forward in a non-accusatory way,” McVarnock told reporters during a Sept. 14 briefing, while adding the final decision lies with the coroner. The woman, whose name hasn’t been released, died in an Ottawa hospital Aug. 14 after falling down the stairs outside the Nova Hotel Aug. 9. She was taken to hospital, then arrested after allegedly causing a disturbance in the emergency ward. At one point police, who were told by hospital staff to bring the woman back once sober, phoned the hospital to see about bringing the woman in for treatment. They were told the hospital was too busy.

Three hours later police took her to the hospital after finding her on the floor of a jail cell. She was medevaced to Ottawa and later died. RCMP from Manitoba’s major crimes unit are investigating the death. McVarnock said the Iqaluit detachment’s cells are monitored by video and that officers check prisoners at least every 15 minutes. The watch commander will add a second officer to watch prisoner when the cells are busy, McVarnock added.

Nunavut RCMP officers worried about safety

Gabriel Zarate Northern News Services Published Monday, September 7, 2009

IQALUIT - The results of an RCMP employee opinion survey show police in Nunavut give low marks to their safety, work-life balance and training opportunities, and they don't think too highly of their top brass.

Steve McVarnock: RCMP V Division commander says a lack of training opportunities is being addressed.

Of those officers who answered nationwide, only 26 per cent agreed that "RCMP develops capable senior leaders with the right competencies to carry out executive responsibilities." In Nunavut, 18 per cent agreed.Also under fire were elements of how the RCMP operates. Of national respondents, 32 per cent approved of how resources are deployed. In Nunavut it was 25 per cent. For staffing deployment (a.k.a. human resources), 21 per cent approved nationally, and 16 per cent in Nunavut.

Supt. Steve McVarnock, new V Division commander, said the survey served as a "check-up" to gauge what's good and what needs work about the RCMP's organization. "I viewed it as a great opportunity coming in here," he said. "What a way to start, to have a report card thrown at you." Of the low numbers on leadership approval, McVarnock said they showed a need for management to communicate effectively with those on the ground. "There's an unknown in the lower ranks of the world we (management) live in," he said. "The onus is on us as managers to communicate our world to the rank-and-file."

McVarnock said the survey highlighted two problems which are more pronounced in Nunavut's RCMP than in most of the rest of the country. Per capita, more respondents in Nunavut voiced negative opinions of training opportunities than elsewhere in Canada. "I could have predicted this because we are unlike any other jurisdiction in the country," he said. Officers in remote communities have limited opportunities to take courses and get certified in new techniques and tools to help them on the job. This week the RCMP is holding a course in Iqaluit on "containment" – how to look after a dangerous situation until an emergency response team arrives. McVarnock said he had already been aware of the training situation in V Division, and the containment course was one example by which he was addressing it.

Nunavut officers also gave poor ratings to their work-life balance and health and safety. Thirty-one per cent of Nunavummiut officers agreed with the statement "At the RCMP, the health, safety and well-being of employees are promoted," compared to 52 per cent nationally. McVarnock said those problems stem from the remoteness of Nunavut's communities. In detachments with only two members, emergency back-up is hours away at best. The murder of Cpl. Doug Scott in Kimmirut in the fall of 2007 made that problem clear. New regulations introduced in 2008 established that no RCMP member should ever be the only cop in a community, and the organization had to provide a relief member if one person went on vacation.Officers in remote detachments are always on call even when off-duty. That affects their home life because they can't really relax, McVarnock said. A new policy created two months ago has instituted on-call pay for officers, he said.

Nunavut Mounties doubt complaints will be heard

Thursday, September 3, 2009 CBC NEWS:

Many RCMP officers in Nunavut say they're concerned about their workload and safety and don't believe the brass will listen to their complaints, an employee survey suggests.Among the 89 Nunavut-based officers who filled out the RCMP's 2009 Employee Opinion Survey, 54 per cent said they feel they cannot get all their assigned work done during regular working hours.About 47 per cent said they cannot balance their personal, family and work needs with their current job, while the same percentage of officers said they didn't think the RCMP does enough to promote the health, safety and well-being of officers.That 58 per cent of officers who took the survey don't feel RCMP management will take action to address the survey results worries Supt. Steve McVarnock, the police force's commanding officer in Nunavut.McVarnock is touring RCMP detachments around the territory this week to meet with members and hear their concerns."We put a lot of work into gathering this data, so the fact that our members may have some cynicism in terms of what's going to happen next causes me concern," McVarnock said.McVarnock said the RCMP have improved compensation for its northern members, as well as created a relief unit in Nunavut to give officers a break.

"Compared to where we've been, we've made enormous strides," he said."There's still work to be done and that's my job … to continue working in that regard."McVarnock added that he was pleased so many Nunavut RCMP members took the time to complete the survey and share their thoughts.McVarnock added that he was pleased so many Nunavut RCMP members took the time to complete the survey and share their thoughts.Upwards of 89 Nunavut-based members filled out the employee survey, which was completed by officers across Canada."Ninety-four per cent up here completed the survey, which I think speaks volumes as it relates to surveys," he said."It tells me that people are passionate and care about the organization and who they are, what they are and how they are treated."

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Don Quixote Note: Complete RCMP Survey.

Vernon and Area is Part of the Pacific Region - RCMP 'E' Division.

Top Mountie takes total immersion approach to Nunavut

Nunavut News Online:
Steve McVarnock, with his predecessor C/Supt. Marty Cheliak

NEWS: Nunavut August 05, 2009 - 9:58 am Nunatsiaq Online:

For the first couple of months of his tenure, Steve McVarnock will be a travelling man.The new commander of RCMP’s V Division, sworn in late last month, says his new job as Nunavut’s top police officer is to get out and meet as many people as possible, in as many places as possible.

McVarnock said he’s been travelling throughout Nunavut since his first day on the job, June 12, meeting community leaders and rank and file Mounties. By the end of July he’d been to eight Nunavut communities.“I want to have all the detachments visited in the next four weeks,” he said.But when McVarnock gets home, he’ll likely see even more demand for face time.

The Northern Ireland-born, 28-year veteran takes over from Chief Supt. Marty Cheliak, seen by some as aloof, and whose regime faced criticism for not doing enough to combat Iqaluit’s growing drug problem, even though the division commander’s role makes him responsible for policing across the territory. One of those critics is Iqaluit city councillor Allen Hayward. Two years ago Hayward accused the RCMP of “not being very helpful” in tackling the city’s drug problems.But he’s more optimistic after the change of command.“There were a lot of pressing problems that were never addressed in Iqaluit and seeing this guy [McVarnock] immediately have some kind of impact, it shows to officials and the general public who called for action that something can get done,” Hayward said.

One of McVarnock’s first acts was to engineer Take Back The Night, a show of force by police, bylaw and liquor enforcement officers that included roadblocks and visits to bars.McVarnock won’t criticize his predecessor and says it was as much about “operational readiness” and getting Mounties working together, which is especially important given the recent high turnover of officers. “Basically it’s just to serve notice that we are here and we will do our jobs,” he said. Ssuch events serve as a reminder to criminals that someone’s watching. “This new leaf being turned over will help everyone, from the beat cop to the general public.”

McVarnock, who has served in several detachments around the North for about nine years, including a stint in Iqaluit back in 1982, said he also wants to boost the number of Inuit who work for the RCMP. That means more “gun-and-badge” officers, but also dispatch staff and community constables. He said V Division also wants to hire more frontline, Inuktitut-speaking workers in larger communities outside of the three regional hubs of Iqaluit, Rankin Inlet and Cambridge Bay. McVarnock also said eight of the 16 vacant officers positions have recently been filled and that the divisions was looking at ways to entice more officers to come and stay north, though he wouldn’t go into details.“When we start an initiative, we don’t want to start it to fail,” he said.