New head of Sask. RCMP eyes high crime rates

The new commander for the RCMP in Saskatchewan is jumping in with both feet, looking to rural crime and high crime rates as some of his biggest challenges.

Assistant Commissioner Mark Fisher was signed into the command at F Division on Thursday morning as Deputy Commissioner Curtis Zablocki was relieved of his command. Zablocki will be heading to a command in Alberta.

During his speech, Fisher talked about being humbled and honoured to be there, and that he’d never dreamed of being a commander when he graduated from training. Fisher joked that when he started RCMP training he couldn’t swim, and when he left Depot he couldn’t march.

Fisher talked about being engaged with communities across the province, and that it’s key in policing. He also laid out the things he wants to focus on: Reconciliation, domestic violence, gang violence, and rural crime.

Speaking later to media, Fisher said he thinks the RCMP is on the right track with rural crime and is seeing reductions. As proof, he mentioned the provincial response team.

Rural and northern crime rates are still high, Fisher admitted, and it is a concern for police, government and communities.

But Fisher said police don’t hold all the cards when it comes to rural crime solutions; he said they also want to do some longer-term prevention work.

“Engaging with communities, with youth and building capacities within many of our northern communities (is key),” he said. “Anything we can do to be a partner in that is really important, and something that has been encouraged in this province for years, and I’ll continue to encourage moving forward.”

Fisher said he was just in Prince Albert, speaking to leaders there, and they talked about the problems but also how they can be fixed.

“It’s one thing I’ve really noticed about this province, it is a can-do attitude … There’s an appetite here, and an understanding we’re all in it together, and that no one component of society or of government or policing owns all the solutions, and we need to be a team to be effective given the size and resources that are available,” said Fisher.

When it comes to finding solutions for things, Fisher said Saskatchewan has a real appetite for innovation. He mentioned the new rural crime advisory network that more than 8,000 people have signed up for across the province already.

Fisher said the RCMP is already seeing benefits in some of the responses it’s getting.

“It really helps us focus where we’re putting our resources in, and the quicker that information comes in (helps) in our response to some of these calls that we’re responding to and the investigations that we do,” he said.

Internally, Fisher talked about needing to develop leadership within the RCMP and preparing the next generation of officers.

Drugs and meth have been identified as drivers of crime by police across the province, and Fisher is no different. He said it presents a challenge on a variety of fronts and the force’s work on gangs and organized crime is going to be a big piece in dealing with meth.

Zablocki says farewell

Zablocki spoke to the crowd at the ceremony before he signed over command, talking about his time with F Division.

He said communities and partnerships are important in policing, but so is trust. He talked about his challenges and how they were tackled, like realigning resources to deal with rural crime.

Zablocki choked up a little bit when talking about the tests the RCMP faced in his time, moments of heartbreak and times that members needed to lean on each other. Zablocki said he’s proud of them for coming together.

Zablocki called his time in Saskatchewan rewarding, and said Saskatchewan will have a strong advocate and neighbour next door in Alberta, where he will be talking over a command.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated with the correct name of the Saskatchewan RCMP’s Assistant Commissioner, Mark Fisher.