Manitoba RCMP‘s new commanding officer has only been in the job for a week and a half, but she’s already enjoying her time in the province and has big plans for the future.
Assistant Commissioner Jane MacLatchy is the first woman to command Manitoba’s Mounties in the service’s almost 90-year history.
She replaced former assistant commissioner Scott Kolody, who stepped down from his role in late January after a 34-year RCMP career.
WATCH: Assistant Commissioner Scott Kolody announces retirement from the RCMP
An important focus for MacLatchy in her new role, she said, is restorative justice, as well as helping communities find ways to address the root causes of crime, before people go off track.
“One of the things we see is you can’t just arrest your way out of these things.
“You can’t just arrest people, throw them in jail, they get out of jail, crimes happen again. It becomes this revolving door, this cycle that takes place.
“Instead, you need to find a way, in my opinion, to identify which crimes you can address through restorative justice.”
“You can take an offender, often a youth, and say ‘what have you done and how can you fix it? How can you tell the community you’re sorry, and how can they support you in making sure you have what you need to thrive?'”
MacLatchy, who has been with the RCMP since 1988, told 680 CJOB she’s proud to be taking on the job as the province’s top cop.
“I’m very proud to be here, I think this is going to be a terrific gig,” she said.
“This to me is almost a dream job. I love the prairies. I’ve never actually worked in Manitoba before, but I’ve worked in Saskatchewan, and there’s something special about the culture of the prairies.
“The people are great, super friendly, welcoming, funny, and they care about each other. It reminds me a lot of Nova Scotia where I grew up.”
MacLatchy’s extensive resume includes time with the RCMP’s famous Musical Ride, as well as security gigs with Team Canada at multiple Olympic Games, including 2010’s Winter Olympics in Vancouver.