When Insp. Alexandre Laporte took the reins as officer in charge at Yellowknife RCMP detachment two and a half months ago, the city's new top cop took on three mandated policing priorities.
They are: increased visibility downtown; drug and gang enforcement; and addressing frequent detainees in new ways.
In a sit-down interview with Laporte – who has been stationed in the city for 10 of his 16 years with the RCMP – the Quebec-born Mountie said trust can play a key role in making progress on that trio of objectives.
Insp. Laporte said community policing – a “pillar” of law enforcement – is integral.
“It's important for us to be seen and to provide that sense of presence for the public,” said Laporte.
Community policing – from talks at schools to neighbourhood visits – includes downtown foot patrols, an element of RCMP work Laporte said the detachment has embraced as part of its culture.
By getting out, walking around and “engaging” in the downtown, officers are “creating that proximity, that relationship with the public, the business owners, with clients,” he said.
This year's priority to address high user needs in different ways, described by RCMP as collaborating on a “multi-disciplinary intervention program intended to mitigate frequent detainees,” also leans on the community, Laporte said.
As a former pro-hockey player who understands the importance of team-work, Yellowknife's top cop Insp. Alexandre Laporte says he aims to tackle a number of priorities – and strengthen the relationship between police and the public – through a continued emphasis on community policing.
Through grassroots partnerships with community organizations such as the the mobile Street Outreach program, he said frequent detainees are being diverted from jail cells and given the help they need, in turn alleviating resources to “allow police officers to be police officers.”
From 2016 to 2017, calls for service for mischief and public intoxication dropped 13 per cent. The number of prisoner's held at the Yellowknife detachment has seen a steady decline, too, with 65,000 in 2014 to 27,000 last year.
Laporte said the force has been able to directly link these positive results with the assistance they've received from community partners. Freed up resources, he said, have resulted in more eyes on the road, with a 30 per cent upswing in the number of impaired driving charges from 2016 to 2017.
As for drugs and gangs, Laporte admitted enforcement is an ongoing battle, but again stressed the need for community policing in confronting their presence.
He cited the success 2016's Project Green Manalishi – a large-scale probe into high-level drug trafficking – as an example.
“All of those investigations are triggered by information we collect from the public. Creating an environment where people are willing to come forward is very, very important to me,” said Laporte.
Speaking on January's unresolved gun-point robbery at Reddi Mart, Laporte said the force has put “a lot of resources into” the investigation.
“Those cases, somebody knows something and it's about creating that environment,again, where they feel safe and they have trust in the RCMP,” he said. “The ability to go to people and for people to come to us in times of crisis – those relationships are gold.”
“All this leads to that trust ... and that's what I'm trying to do,” he added.
Laporte said the force has made strides strengthening public trust, but said there's always room for improvement.
With his promotion following the departure of Insp. Matt Peggs in February, Laporte now oversees 48 Mounties and 10 administrative support staff at the detachment – a responsibility he doesn't take lightly.
As high-risk job, Laporte said he's committed to fostering a “safe and inclusive workplace for everyone,” – one he hopes will upend stubborn attitudes about mental health.
“Breaking those barriers down, those stigmas; that old culture that exists in some fields that says 'you need to be tough.' No, people need to talk.”
On legal pot's roll out
With the legalization of marijuana looming, Laporte said Yellowknife RCMP is ready – but waiting for cues from the government.
“We've been very proactive in training our members ...training drug recognition experts to allow us to further investigate roadside when an officer suspects someone may be driving impaired,” he said.
“We're preparing as best we can and waiting for the legislation to come so we know exactly what we're working with.”
Laporte wouldn't say if he held any concerns about legalization's fast-approaching roll out, but said the “community, in general, is anticipating the changes.”
On Indigenous representation, diversity on the force
“From the RCMP's perspective we want to be as diverse as we can be in the communities we serve. Indigenous recruitment is important, as well as other cultures,” said Laporte.
According to Laporte, 82 per cent of the detachment's members attended a Dene cultural camp last year in Dettah.