LAW ON the sea

AS THE RCMP CELEBRATES ITS 100TH ANNIVERSARY, RIDE ALONG WITH THE FORCE’S LITTLE-KNOWN WEST COAST MARINE SERVICES DIVISION

- JILL HEINERTH

RCMP constable Mike Reid has just changed out of his uniform at the end of a seven-day patrol when his phone rings. It’s 8:30 p.m. The call to his Prince Rupert, B.C., office is about a man with life-threatening injuries at a residence in the small community of Kitkatla, about 45 kilo metres to the southwest. Instead of flying home, Reid puts on his duty belt and foul-weather gear to take an investigation team in a 5.4-metre-long, open-deck, rigidhull inflatable boat, or RHIB, across the dark, unsettled waters. In Kitkatla, two coastal detachment officers rush to the scene, calling in an air ambulance for the gravely injured man, but the 34-year old victim quickly succumbs to his injuries. A single officer now detains a homicide suspect at a tiny community jailhouse, while the second officer secures the scene. A crowd gathers beyond the police tape, but neither officer can leave their post or respond to questions until Reid and the other officers arrive.

When they do, they provide support and launch an investigation that will be handed off to the North District’s major crime unit. There is never a question of whether the RCMP will get to a scene. It’s a matter of how quickly. Along British Columbia’s coast, where many towns and villages are accessible only by boat or plane, and adventurous boaters ply the bountiful, emerald waters, passing fly-in fishing lodges and reclusive cabins nestled in quiet coves, that’s not a simple matter. In this region, however, it is the responsibility of the RCMP’s little-known West Coast Marine Services division.