April 1st marked the 10 year anniversary that the RCMP had an official presence in Chestermere with a formal detachment. This anniversary comes only weeks before they move into the new building which is slated to open sometime in June of this year once construction is complete.
To mark the anniversary in a special way, Staff Sgt. Glenn Henry wanted to formally thank the people who are directly involved in the contribution of the Chestermere RCMP. To do this he had special challenge coins made depicting both the City of Chestermere and RCMP insignia on it.
“We gave these coins to certain people as a symbol of celebration as well as recognizing their contributions and support,” said S/Sgt. Glenn Henry.
All RCMP members and staff, City Councilors, fire service and community peace officers are among those that received the coveted coin.
“Without many of these peoples support, we wouldn’t be here today,” commented S/Sgt. Henry, “The Mayor and council have been very supportive of us through funding and by providing us with a state of the art building soon.”
“We also recognize that the members of the Fire Service and Peace Officers have helped us over the years and I would like to renew that commitment to work together. Our members work seamlessly with them and it is nice to have the ability to work so closely with them.”
Prior to 2005, Chestermere’s population did not support having its own police force and was covered by the Strathmore RCMP division. In 2005 when the formal Chestermere detachment was put in place there was 1 Corporal; 6 Constables and 1 municipal employee (support staff).
Today, the team has a total of 17 members including 1 Staff Sergeant; 1 Sergeant; 2 Corporals; 13 Constables and 4 municipal employees. The existing RCMP building is being replaced by a new facility at the same location on East Chestermere Drive which is due to be open in the coming weeks.
Across Southern Alberta the RCMP has 37 detachments and provides policing service to 417,000 Albertans.
