The Kennebecasis Regional Police Force is marking its 70th anniversary this year.
It was in April 1951 that the force, known then as the Rothesay Police Department, began operations.
Over the past seven decades, the force has seen many changes — it has had three separate names, eight different chiefs, and has expanded several times.
Our newsroom recently sat down with two long-serving members of the force, Cpl. Sharon Woods and Sgt. Evan Scott, to talk about the changes they have seen over their career.
For Woods, wanting to become a police officer began in grade 10, when an RCMP officer gave a presentation during career day at her school.
“As a result of that, that was it, I was hooked. I knew I wanted to catch the bad guys doing bad things,” said Woods.
Woods became the first woman to join what was then the Rothesay Regional Police Force in 1988.
As the first female officer on the force, Woods acknowledged that it was a bit tough at first.
“I had to learn how to say to the guys ‘look, I’m not gonna sit in the car, I’m going to be your backup. I’m here,'” she said.
The Kennebecasis Regional Police Force now has nine women among its 41-member complement.
Two of those women, Anika Becker and Mary Henderson, serve as the force’s two inspectors while a third, 23-year veteran Kim Bennett, recently became the first female sergeant in the force’s history.
“The numbers are on the rise and they’re in a good spot,” Woods said about the number of women on the force.
Scott, meanwhile, joined the department a few years before Woods in 1983. At the time, the department’s office was in the back portion of the Rothesay fire station on Gondola Point Road.
The department only had three police cars and very little in the way of technology, he recalled.
“There was one electric typewriter, that was it. If you made a mistake, you had to start all over again,” said Scott.
Calls for service were answered from an officer’s patrol car until the department started using an answering service, which acted as a dispatcher.
Fast forward 38 years, the department now has more than 20 vehicles, including four drones, two off-road all-terrain vehicles, and a motorcycle for the traffic section.
Officers also use a wide array of technology as part of the job, such as body cameras and in-car cameras.
“The technology has advanced so much,” said Scott. “We’re one of the most advanced police forces in the province as far as technology is concerned.”
While a 70th anniversary would normally come with a big celebration, that will not be possible this year because of the pandemic.
But the force is doing smaller things to recognize the anniversary, such as placing 70th-anniversary decals on all front-line patrol vehicles and in the lobby windows of the police station.
A new glass display featuring historical items is also being set up in the public reception area of the station.
In addition, the force is in the process of planning and designing a historical mural which will be revealed later this year.
Historical facts, courtesy of the Kennebecasis Regional Police Force:
- April 1, 1951: Harry Darcus Miller is appointed as the first full-time police officer for the town and the Rothesay Police Department is born. Const. Miller patrolled the streets on foot until the town bought him his first patrol car, a second-hand 1942 Dodge Coupe, for $325.
- 1953: The Rothesay Police Department becomes radio equipped.
- 1969: The town purchases its first speed radar. The late Dr. J.A. Caskey, who happened to be mayor at the time, was issued the first ticket.
- July 1, 1969: The Town of Rothesay reaches an agreement with the villages of East Riverside and Renforth, which saw the Rothesay Police Department take over policing duties in the villages. Const. Harry Miller is promoted to chief and two constables are hired. Two more positions were created between 1969 and 1974.
- April 1, 1974: The Rothesay Police Department takes over policing of the Village of Fairvale and hires two more members, bringing the total to seven.
- April 1, 1978: Quispamsis, which was a village at the time, is brought under the jurisdiction of the Rothesay Police Department. Seven more officers are added, bringing the total to 14.
- January 1, 1984: A new agreement goes into effect between the towns of Rothesay and Quispamsis, and the villages of Renforth, East Riverside/Kingshurst, Fairvale and Gondola Point. This agreement forms the new Rothesay Regional Police Department and means that the former Rothesay Police Force ceases to exist.
- August 1975: Grant Lewis, a former member of the RCMP, is hired as chief after Harry Miller died from cancer earlier in the year.
- December 1976: Melvin Saunders, who came up through the ranks of the department, replaces Chief Lewis.
- January 12, 1983: Cyril L. Oram becomes chief after serving the Saint John Police Force for 33 years. Oram adds three more officers to the growing number of members patrolling the streets during his first year.
- 1988: Thomas Gladney becomes chief of the force.
- 1998: Stephen McIntyre takes over responsibility as chief.
- March 31, 2014: The Rothesay Regional Police Force is renamed the Kennebecasis Regional Police Force to better reflect the policing jurisdiction.
- 2016: Steve Palmer becomes the force’s seventh chief. Palmer served as deputy chief between 1998 and 2016.
- November 2017: Wayne Gallant becomes the present-day chief of the force.
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