New RCMP commander

The City detachment of the RCMP has a new top man.

Staff Sgt. Jeff Simpson took over as detachment commander Aug. 22, replacing Staff Sgt. Greg Nichol who retired.

For Simpson the posting is a homecoming of sorts, having been born in Saskatchewan, and earlier in his career having been posted to detachments in Punnichy and Wynyard.

“Coming back to the province was a big thing for me and my family,” said Simpson at a press conference introducing him to local media at City Hall Friday.

Simpson, who has spent the last decade posted in Alberta, said he has family in Saskatchewan to whom he is now closer.

As for Yorkton, Simpson said he is hoping this will be the final move before his retirement, although that is still several years in the future. He said he and his family like the family feel of Yorkton.

Born in Saskatoon, Simpson started his career with the RCMP as a constable in Wynyard, Saskatchewan, moving on to Punnichy and then Calgary as part of that city’s Integrated Market Enforcement Team (IMET). There he was promoted to Sergeant and later Administration NCO. While in Calgary, he was the investigator responsible for establishment and operation of the Joint Securities Intelligence Unit within the Calgary IMET.

In 2011, he moved to Gleichen, Alberta as NCO Operations, then to Fort Vermillion in 2013 as detachment commander. In Fort Vermillion, he was responsible for transitioning of policing services to the RCMP from the North Peace Tribal Police Service.

Asked what he feels is the strength he brings to the top job at the local detachment, Simpson said by virtue of being in the RCMP a person becomes “highly adaptable” and that is something he believes he can utilize in taking on whatever challenges the position offers.

Simpson said he is also a proponent of creating a good relationship between officers and the general public, especially youth. He said he hasn’t determined what the “base level is” in terms of officer involvement in the community, but he will be making it a priority.

It is important for youth to have “non-enforcement interactions” with officers so they come to see the police as a place to turn to when they need help and to be safe, he said. The interaction can be a visit to school, or a basketball game with officers, just to build a level of trust.

“It’s just increasing those opportunities,” he said, adding when you build a relationship with a youth, that youth turns into a teenager with that relationship in place, and then into adults with a level of trust in place.

As for the specifics of what he sees as key issues the detachment must work to address, Simpson said he has not been in the big chair long enough to have delved that deeply into the files.

“I’m not quite at that stage yet,” he said, adding there is always the foundation commitment of the RCMP to create a “safe community.”

Simpson said certainly he will be holding discussions with the City to understand their concerns and from there create priorities for the detachment.

That said, Simpson said like most detachments, Yorkton faces a situation where about five per cent of the offenders the RCMP deal with “95 per cent of the work and grief in the community.” Those five per cent are basically habitual offenders that are dealt with by incarceration once caught, or are watched closely enough they chose to move to another community to escape the scrutiny.

Simpson added if a habitual offender does move, that is corresponded to other jurisdictions, and that is a strength of a national police force “keeping a good tab on these people.”

In addition to his RCMP training Simpson holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Human Resource Management and Operations/Production Management. He is currently completing his MBA through Athabasca University.

The Yorkton detachment has 28 full time members, although rarely are there that many available to police the city when injuries, maternity or paternity leaves, reduced duty situation, and awaiting transfers are factored in.