For the most recent arrival at the Squamish RCMP detachment, Sgt. Kevin Bracewell, it was all about the location.
"It was time to try a smaller detachment," said Bracewell, who transferred from North Vancouver in October and who had previously worked in Surrey. "It was also that Squamish is a growing community and there's a lot going on."
As the new Operations NCO, Bracewell is responsible for the public side of local R.C,M.P. "as opposed to administration", as he puts it. This means ensuring that the cops on the beat have everything they require to help them do their jobs and respond to the needs of the community.
He immediately recognized how downsizing in the scale of his beat affected his daily work routine.
"It's quite different. Big detachments require more resourcing in their policing, and there is a base of support there to carry out many things that you don't have to worry about. In smaller ones you find yourself changing a car lightbulb in the parking lot. You do more yourself."
Originally from Lancaster, England, Bracewell was in the British and Canadian armed forces before joining the R.C.M.P. in 1990.In January this year he returned from training Iraqi police officers in Amman, Jordan. He worked with 200 Iraqi cadets every two weeks for a six-month period.
"It was very interesting, very hot - 54.2C. We were just over there to assist the Iraqi police in their training," he said.
Sgt. Bracewell added that the terrain around Squamish plays a part in his satisfaction with his new posting.
"I looked up at the mountains the other day, and thought 'who wouldn't be happy with that?'" he said.
