Mark Fisher was sworn in as the commanding officer of the Saskatchewan RCMP on Thursday.
An official change of command ceremony was held at the RCMP Academy in Regina.
Fisher will take over duties from the outgoing commanding officer, Curtis Zablocki, who was appointed deputy commissioner of the Alberta RCMP.
Fisher, who was previously the assistant commissioner, has worked in law enforcement for more than two decades.
He has held a number of posts throughout British Columbia, including the officer in charge of the Nanaimo detachment on Vancouver Island.
Fisher said he hopes to strengthen ties amongst law enforcement as well as increase transparency between the force and the public.
“One thing I’ve really noticed about this province is it’s ‘can-do’ attitude,” Fisher said. “There’s an appetite here and an understanding that we’re all in it together and that no one component of society, or of government, or policing owns all the solutions. We need to be a team to be effective.”
Fisher also touched on tackling high crime rates in rural communities across the province.
Earlier this year, the Saskatchewan Crime Watch Advisory network expanded its program to include central and northern Saskatchewan which allows RCMP detachments to send out free alerts throughout the network.
WATCH BELOW: Saskatchewan RCMP crime watch alert system expanded province-wide (April 2019)
“The high crime rates are front of mind for us at all times,” Fisher said. “It’s about finding initiatives, opportunities, and innovation to tackle that.”
Representatives of the Ministry of Corrections and Policing, Metis Nation-Saskatchewan, Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations, Moose Jaw Police Service, Saskatoon Police Service, Estevan Police Service, and Weyburn Police Service were in attendance at the ceremony.
Fisher is the 34th commanding officer of the Saskatchewan RCMP.
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