Communication, community partnerships and employee investment are among top priorities for the Kelowna Regional RCMP’s new top cop.
Supt. Kara Triance is beginning her second week as officer in charge of the Kelowna Regional Detachment, encompassing Kelowna, West Kelowna, Peachland and Lake Country, and is already busy at work tackling many hot topics of discussion within the city. These include a recently reported spike in crime, heightened numbers of domestic and sexual violence calls, as well as a number of local RCMP members facing scrutiny for alleged misconduct.
“Conduct is of utmost importance. Our level of professionalism and how we show up and deal with every situation, is important… You will see going forward that I set expectations very high.”
Triance previously spoke about the recently reported spike in crime.
READ MORE: Non-violent crime, small population contributes to Kelowna’s crime rate spike, says RCMP
She met with media Tuesday (Nov. 3) morning to answer questions about her priorities, the detachment, and community going forward.
Previously the branch commander of the Squamish Sea To Sky RCMP, which she headed for four years, Triance referenced many unique challenges that helped prepare her for her new role.
In Sea To Sky, a region of over three million visitors annually, Triance said complex seasonal policing plans were needed in order to properly protect it. She believes this will help her prepare for the Central Okanagan’s regular influx of tourists during the summer.
“Each community is very unique in its needs… one of the things that I’m looking at when I come to Kelowna is just how we can integrate with this community, partner with the community service providers, and work together to deal with issues upstream that are really important to Kelowna right now.”
And after 20 years in law enforcement, and ten years command experience, she’s back in her home town.
“This is a really incredible experience to not only return to my hometown but be the first female police officer who’s the detachment commander for Kelowna.”
She was raised in Kelowna by two public servants; her father a teacher and her mother a nurse with Interior Health.
It was her passion for people that led her down the path of pursuing sociology, taking on human kinetics, and eventually law enforcement. It was an influential UBC criminology professor that spurred Triance into pursuing a career in law enforcement, despite that not being her original goal.
Going forward, with almost 200 police officers in her command, Triance hopes to improve the culture of the detachment. She stressed the need for strong values, conduct, professionalism, respect and integrity.
“I have really high expectations of my police officers for professionalism, accountability, and every contact matters. It’s not that we go out and (just) do the job, it’s how we do the job. For me, that starts with an internal look and (an) investment in my employees.”
She promised regular status updates on how the RCMP is tackling high-profile issues previously mentioned.
“I’m really looking forward to the opportunity to have additional conversations with (the media), and begin to communicate how that work is getting down, and what priorities we’re focusing on as a police detachment in Kelowna.”
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