Staff Sgt. Jason Teniuk and the Battlefords RCMP detachment have prepared for the transition of Inspector Tom Beck leaving the community. (Josh Ryan/battlefordsNOW)

By Josh Ryan

Transition time

Battlefords RCMP adust to leadership change

Apr 23, 2021 | 2:08 PM

While their former Inspector prepares for a new venture, the Battlefords RCMP detachment has been preparing for his departure.

Staff Sgt. Jason Teniuk said the change has been in the works for months, which allowed them to plan for the transition when Insp. Tom Beck leaves for his new posting in Whitehorse, Yukon. He added that no one should be able to notice a difference, as they have worked to keep operations the same.

“It’s just a different name that they will be seeing when any kind of media stuff comes out,” Teniuk said. “That will be the only difference.”

Teniuk said his role of officer in charge will remain more around public relations, but he will be visible in the community and spend more time speaking to council and the City’s Indigenous partners.

“It’s something I’m very comfortable I’m in doing,” he said. “With new challenges, come new responsibilities and I’m looking forward to that.”

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Teniuk will remain in his role until Saskatchewan RCMP find a new inspector for the detachment. He said that they’re likely looking at three months, but it could be longer.

“The role will sit open with me running [the detachment] until we find that particular person.”

With Beck leaving after two years in the role, Teniuk thanked him for his service to the community and guiding the detachment on their direction for the future.

“Insp. Beck did a really good job of establishing where we want to be and now we’re just working to make that position as efficient as we possibly can.”

In making the transition seamless, Teniuk said every member will continue striving to do better.

“We recognize there’s challenges and that we’re understaffed, but we’re going to continue to do better in keeping the Battlefords as a safe place to live,” he said.

Unanimous support for SIRT

Local police detachments like the Battlefords welcomed the news of the province’s announcement earlier this month, of establishing a Serious Incident Response Team (SIRT), a civilian-led independent group to investigate serious incidents involving a police officer. The Police Amendment Act, 2021, also ensures the SIRT includes Indigenous representation.

“The proposed changes are the next step to enhancing police oversight and ensuring public trust,” Justice Minister and Attorney General Gordon Wyant said.

Saskatchewan was the only province to not have a SIRT team in place. Teniuk said this had been in the works for a long time and had great demand from both the public and law enforcement, adding that it will be nice to have an external body looking into things, providing true investigational integrity.

“It’s something that will be good for public oversight, for accountability and for the province in general,” he said. “Not looking out for the police, but actually looking to find the truth and talking about the truth,” Teniuk said.

Teniuk said he doesn’t expect it will remove all police complaints.

“There’s some minor ones, maybe in regards to an officer saying something that was taken out of context,” he said. “A lot of those minor ones are still going to be handled by police, but there’s always room for expansion.”

And Teniuk added that he doesn’t expect it to change behaviour, but it will help the public see the job police officers do.

“It adds a lot more credibility, accountability and so forth, but for us overall, operations don’t change change,” he said.

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josh.ryan@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @JoshRyanSports