After a year and a half with the Ladysmith RCMP, Staff Sgt. Larry Chomyn, has taken a new position with the West Shore RCMP.
“For me, it was just an evolution for my career; it’s a promotion opportunity,” said Chomyn, who had been the Ladysmith detachment commander since January 2012. “The job with West Shore will bring on different challenges. It’s a bigger detachment, so from a career point of view, that was the next step for me.”
Despite Chomyn’s decision to move on, he enjoyed his time in Ladysmith, and he believes that everybody is responsible for the great atmosphere of the town.
“I personally think it’s an awesome town. It’s a very supportive town; the community, the council, and the mayor — everybody was very supportive … it’s a great policing environment,” he said.
In the short time that Chomyn worked in Ladysmith, he thinks the detachment made great strides when it comes to allocating resources and getting the detachment fully staffed and functioning.
Along with the improvements made within the department, a stronger relationship has been built with the Stz’uminus and Penelakut bands, he says.
“We were able to get ourselves an all-weather boat capacity, so that we could service Thetis Island, and Penelakut, and we got all the members of the department trained up with the utilization of that equipment,” he said.
The Ladysmith RCMP detachment has seen many improvements throughout the year, and Chomyn believes that the department will continue to move in a positive direction.
“I think anywhere, policing is always in a state of evolution and development. I think the detachment is going to continue to work on some of the priority issues that are identified with the community, such as prolific offenders and visibility,” he said.
There has not been an announcement of a replacement yet, but they are currently in the process of finding somebody, said Chomyn.
