It’s official: Saskatchewan RCMP commanding officer sworn in

After a year of being Saskatchewan’s top cop, Assistant Commissioner Rhonda Blackmore was officially sworn in Thursday as the commanding officer of the RCMP in the province.

The change of command ceremony took place at the RCMP Academy in Regina.

“Being a commanding officer comes with great responsibility,” Blackmore said. “It’s such a great opportunity to provide support to the front lines that need to make sure they are providing excellent policing services they give to the people of Saskatchewan.”

The ceremony began with a procession filled with bagpipes and stomping boots. Each of the RCMP officers who marched are current serving officers who volunteered their time to be a part of the ceremony.

RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki was in attendance to help the transition in the passing of the “F” Division ensign flag from outgoing commanding officer Mark Fisher to Blackmore, and to approve the signing of the change of command parchments.

Lucki and Blackmore exchanged grins while passing the flag.

Final sendoffs often end with a round of applause, and the outgoing commanding officer got the same treatment.

The officers on hand celebrated Fisher by chanting “Hip, Hip, Hooray!” at the end of his final inspection.

Fisher has been the Saskatchewan RCMP’s commanding officer since December of 2018.

Blackmore took command of “F” Division in April of 2021, her first time working in Saskatchewan since she first joined the RCMP in 1995. Blackmore worked in Assiniboia, Regina and Buffalo Narrows for the first seven years of her career.

Some of Blackmore’s best advice to new police officers comes from her time spent in Saskatchewan.

“It’s those five-minute conversations,” she said. “(It’s) stopping on the side of the road if you are from somewhere else in the country — maybe from Toronto or Montreal — and don’t know what a cultivator looks like.

“If a farmer is on the side of the road filling up the seed drill, stop and ask him. Those conversations lead to all those great relationships and the community trust.”

With a year as commanding officer under her belt, Blackmore will continue to address tasks she has been working towards.

“We are continuing with our reconciliation efforts with Indigenous people,” said Blackmore. “We have various initiatives looking into how we can advance progress in that area, but we would like to do more.

“We are working on recruitment by making sure that people understand the great opportunities the RCMP offers. And we are recruiting right here in Saskatchewan.”

Tackling organized crime in the province is another item on her list.

“The province has provided us with additional resources that will target traffickers,” Blackmore said of the Saskatchewan government. “That will really help us focus on guns, drugs and human smuggling that’s happening both within the province and drugs and guns coming into the province from elsewhere.

“It’s such a level of violence and it causes so much harm in so many communities.”

— With files from 980 CJME’s Shane Clausing