Red Deer’s new commanding officer is ready to roll up his sleeves and get down to business.
RCMP Insp. Scott Tod took over the reins to the Red Deer RCMP detachment on May 5, replacing Warren Dosko, who stepped down as superintendent in late December.
For the last three years, Tod was in charge of the Wetaskiwin RCMP detachment.
“For me this is where I wanted to get to,” said Tod. “I’ve been a detachment commander at five different places. I am very happy and excited to be in Red Deer as a city. I think it would be a great place not only career wise but for my family and myself to live.”
Tod, 51, said the first thing on his plate is to get to know the detachment and personnel, and ensure everything is in place. Only then will he turn to addressing crime and response in the community.
“My first impression is there are a lot of good and committed people here,” he said. “I think if I let those people do what they know what to do we will be very successful. I am also very impressed with the current relationship with the city and the detachment.”
Tod has also met with city officials to gain an understanding of the city’s priorities for public safety. He is also delving into the city’s new policing plan, which includes proposed pilots like a new call response model.
“It’s a busy and complex detachment,” said Tod, who was born in Edmonton. “With every move and every new boss, there’s change. That’s inevitable. There’s a lot of initiatives that have been proposed that have been left for me to follow up on.”
Tod said it will be a matter of looking at the list, the background and the rationale for the initiatives.
Tod comes to the city as a 25-year RCMP veteran, of which 22 years were spent in British Columbia. He has worked in detachments with as little as four officers up to 125 officers, and in First Nations communities.
Red Deer has the largest RCMP detachment in the province.
“Other than Wetaskiwin, the relationship with the community and the police was strong when I got there,” said Tod. “All the other places that I have been commander there were significant challenges in terms of those relationships. When I look back, I think that’s probably the biggest milestone that I have the ability to improve relationships with our clients and stakeholders.”
Tod hopes he continues to lead a detachment that will be known for having high morale, and quality investigations and quality service to the community, and a detachment where the members wanted to be posted.
Tod and his wife Laine-Ray, have two teenaged sons, aged 14 and 17. Tod is commuting from Wetaskiwin until they sell their home.
crhyno@www.reddeeradvocate.com