Vermilion RCMP welcomed a new Detachment Commander, Corey Buckingham, on May 1. Sgt. Buckingham previously served as a Corporal in Vermilion from 2015 – 2018, and as the Kitscoty Detachment Commander until this spring.
“I grew up in small-town Saskatchewan with my first posting in Williams Lake, B.C, followed by La Loche and Meadow Lake Saskatchewan. I’ve lived here since 2015 and maintained ties with the community while working in Kitscoty. The opportunity for a promotion came up there and I was fortunate to be selected, but I did always hope to be back here at some point. We really like the community and have a family with two school-age children. We like the location, the size of the community; we’re grateful for the friends we’ve made here, and we are very happy with the opportunities for our children,” said Buckingham. “I’ve gained an hour a day and am very thankful to be working in the same community as my family. I think my knowledge of the community can help make a positive difference here.”
Outside of work, he is a member of the Vermilion Rotary Club, and participates in the local golf and rec hockey communities. At work, he will be overseeing a fairly similar size staff and detachment area as he had in Kistcoty. Over the past week, he said they received a large variety of calls from minor property crime and theft to major break and enters, theft of motor vehicles, persons crimes, as well as traffic complaints, noise complaints, and 9-1-1 calls. Anytime they respond to EMS calls, he says they will have a personal impact, but they individually attend to that to mitigate negative effects.
“The members have all been really good. Every day seems to be a new, different challenge. I got into policing to help people, but before I joined the force I didn’t really know what that meant or what it would look like. Over time my role has gone from helping people directly, to mentoring and helping my team help people and overall having a larger impact on my community,” said Buckingham.
He encouraged people to call the RCMP and to be patient with the call-taking system.
“Some of the questions may not seem relevant, but are important to helping us. Covering a vast area, our response could take some time. We do our best to prioritize as needed,” said Buckingham. “Make sure people are calling in suspicious occurrences. It might be nothing, but it might be one last piece of the puzzle or lead us somewhere else. Thieves are generally looking for something easy, so always remember to secure your vehicles and valuables, even if you’re just running into the gas station.”
To reach the Vermilion RCMP Detachment during business hours, you can call 780-853-4441 or the 24-hour line answered by their communications centre at 780-853-5781. If it’s an emergency, you can simply call 9-1-1.
Comentarios