The commanding officer of the Terrace RCMP detachment looks forward to more help from a specialized police unit when it comes to combating drugs and gang activity in the area.
Staff Sergeant Terry Gillespie made the comments in an interview with The Terrace Standard following the appearance last month in the region of a unit made up of officers from a variety of B.C. police forces.
“We’re hoping to have these provincial support units come to Terrace more often, helping us keep a lid on crime and targeting those high-profile individuals that have a high propensity for violence,” he said of the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of British Columbia (CFSEU-B.C.)’s Uniformed Gang Enforcement Team (UGET).
Those officers were involved in a number of activities in Kitimat and Prince Rupert as well as Terrace, resulting in several arrests, and seizures of weapons, drugs such as crystal methamphetamine, ammunition, body armour and cash.
A crowbar, extendable baton, knives, a replica pistol and other homemade weapons were among items seized.
A shortage of officers at the Terrace detachment has resulted shelving a number of specialized sections to fill general duty and other vacancies, including what had been a three-person crime reduction unit.
READ MORE: Several arrests, seizures follow joint operation by Terrace RCMP and B.C.’s gang enforcement team
Gillespie has hopes the unit will be back up and running this summer.
He was able to revive the unit temporarily by pulling one officer back from other duties to work with the UGET unit.
The Terrace RCMP detachment, as is the case with other RCMP detachments and police forces across the country, has a shortage of officers.
In several appearances before city council Gillespie has said the detachment is operating at anywhere between 75 and 80 per cent of its required strength. Other statistics compiled by the detachment indicate its officers have more files under investigation than at other detachments, a workload factor that has increased stress.
As for the arrival of the UGET, Gillespie said it was not driven by one specific circumstance.
“It’s just a fact that we do know there’s a lot of high-level targets and gang activity in Terrace. There wasn’t a specific event, just the overall crime rate in Terrace, turned our heads toward the collaboration.”
Gillespie said that Terrace has always had a higher crime rate than the provincial average, including but not limited to the Violent Crime Severity Index that’s nearly double the provincial average.
“As a detachment, we’re always looking for ways to improve that and take action to try and make it a safer place,” Gillespie said. “This is just one of the avenues that we can use to try and achieve that.”
Viktor Elias joined the Terrace Standard in April 2023.
Tips or story ideas? (250) 638-7283 ext. 5411 or viktor.elias@terracestandard.com.
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