Brian Lewis (The Province) – A brief sit-down with Insp. Keith Robinson goes a long way toward restoring your faith in the RCMP.
He’s the old-school kind of Mountie who earned your respect by using reason, intelligence and a calming manner to maintain peace and public safety.
In fact, he’s everything that we haven’t seen lately in various RCMP-conduct scandals, which may explain how Robinson came to be appointed as “top cop” for the RCMP’s Upper Fraser Valley Regional Detachment.
Technically, he was elected as Officer-in-Charge for the 142-member force for this vast region by the mayors of Chilliwack, Agassiz/Kent, Harrison Hot Springs and Hope.
And when the appointment is finalized in Ottawa shortly, he’ll be Supt. Keith Robinson — even though he’s been doing the job on an acting basis for 14 months.
Consequently, there’ll be few surprises waiting for Robinson.
Still, he admits there are several challenging and unique aspects to policing a region that runs from Boston Bar to Chilliwack.
The most unique challenge, he says, is that a river runs through it.
“The Fraser River and its fishery make us different,” Robinson notes. “We also have 29 First Nations bands, and most of them are Sto:lo whose primary focus is fishing.
“So when fish stocks are low, the natives feel pressure over providing for their families and this creates lots of tension on the river, especially with the sports fishery,” he adds.
That tension led recently to a shooting incident involving a pellet gun. It’s now under investigation, but Robinson says stepped-up river patrols by his officers, together with local negotiations involving all stakeholders, have kept the lid on more trouble.
A special six-member First Nations Unit — which serves the individual detachments that fall under the regional detachment’s umbrella — also assists in fisheries issues.
“But our role here is public safety,” he stresses. “We don’t get involved in the politics, and the extra police presence on the water after this incident made everyone feel safer.”
By coincidence, one extra RCMP marine patrol was able to rescue two native fishermen recently whose boat had capsized after their net became entangled in a log jam.
“If we hadn’t been there, one of them for sure would have drowned,” Robinson says.
Another unique aspect of policing this region is keeping the “weekend warriors” under control, especially in the spring, summer and fall.
“We’re the backyard playground for the Lower Mainland, so there are lots of lakes and campground up here,” he says.
“Between the long weekends in May and September, we get about four million visitors and liquor is a big, big problem.”
Then there are the same issues — murders, break-ins, gangs, etc. — which all police forces deal with. Robinson has had extensive experience with them during more than 30 years of RCMP service, mostly in the Fraser Valley.
But it’s a relatively new Upper Valley crime reduction strategy that is showing results. “Our crime rates are already down 10 to 40 per cent, depending on the crime,” Robinson says quietly. “Our goal is to do better.”
But don’t expect this top cop to openly brag or grandstand about that.
“I’m kind of low-key,” he tells me. “If I’m never in front of another TV camera, it won’t hurt my feelings.”
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