RCMP holds Change of Command ceremony for Assistant Commissioner

The Commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police was in Portage la Prairie Monday at the local detachment. It was as part of her visit for the Change of Command ceremony that took place on Tuesday afternoon for the new Assistant Commissioner. Brenda Lucki was here with the new Assistance Commissioner for Manitoba, Rob Hill. 

"Recently, retired Assistant Commissioner Jane MacLatchy has left us, and in her place is newly-appointed Assistant Commissioner Rob Hill," says Lucki. "It's exciting times because with that change comes new ideas, new innovations.  Rob's got a history in Manitoba, so he knows a lot about Manitoba, and he's so committed to some of our big-ticket items like recruiting, safety of Canadians, and reconciliation with Indigenous people. He's got lots of experience in that area, and he's going to bring new ideas with that."

Commissioner Brenda Lucki

The Manitoba RCMP is known as D Division. Hills shares his thoughts on taking on his new position.

"I've been in the role for a few months now," says Hill, "This is our ceremony and our official Change of Command when the Commissioner with the previous Commanding Officer. Based on the regimental tradition with the RCMP, it's a chance for us to honour our traditions and do our proper formal Change of Command."

Rob Hill (2nd from right) Commissioner Brenda Lucki (2nd from left)

He explains it's a great honour to have this experience.

"I started my career in Morris, MB, back in 1997," continues Hill. "I went from there to Island Lake and down to Winnipeg, and three other divisions since. So, for me, it's like a full circle and it's beyond an honour to be able to come back to where you started, literally." 

Hill talks about the rural crime issue in our province.

"You've seen a very recent success here with the Strategic Enforcement Response Team (SERT)," explains Hill. "I think that reverberated a lot in the communities to see the ability of SERT. Keep in mind, too, that that team doesn't just go out willy-nilly. This is targeted, but it also has a big analytical component before. So, we have criminal and strategic analysts that examine prolific offenders, linkages, and everything else and it wasn't coincidental with some of the people they went after during that time. It was very strategic and very targeted. We're trying to manage our resources as best we can, so we have to get the best bang for our buck."

Assistant Commissioner Rob Hill

He urges us to stay tuned to see more SERT deployments in times ahead.

"As well, we have some integration opportunities forthcoming with the province," notes Hill. "So there'll be more announced on that. These are all different initiatives to help uncover our front lines so more people can get more boots on the street for frontline policing."

Staffing for the RCMP has been a concern over this last year, where they usually see anywhere between 1600 and 1700 new recruits training, but it was a struggle to see 300 in 2022. Hill explains how those concerns are being resolved.

"We've done a few things to help some of our attachments alter our shifts," adds Hill. " It's constant recruiting. It is a massive thing. Everyone's recruiting, including me. I shamelessly promote the RCMP all the time and especially D Division. This is my division, so any opportunity I get to any person I meet I asked them, 'Would you consider a career in the RCMP?' I think we're an employer of choice. And we offer almost unlimited possibilities that we can do in the RCMP. For example, our Commander in Thompson right now was in Islamabad, Pakistan, before as an international liaison officer. So, anything you can think of, we can offer." 

Hill adds he loves being in Manitoba.

"I'm a hard-core Bomber fan. Go Bombers! That was a blip this year. We'll be back next year!"

RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki and Assistant Commissioner Rob Hill