A woman arrested on Vancouver Island last month has sent a thank-you card to police, giving them a glowing review for her stay in RCMP cells.
West Shore RCMP received the handwritten card in the mail last week after the woman was booked at their detachment in December.
“In the card, the individual writes that they were at first nervous about being held at the West Shore RCMP cells,” Const. Nancy Saggar said.
“Once they were here and they were able to interact with the prison guards and the people that were looking after them, they felt really comfortable and they thanked us for our kindness, actually which was nice to see.”
Without disclosing the prisoner’s identity, the detachment posted a photo of the card to social media on Monday.
It reads, “I wanted to let you know that I appreciated how helpful and kind everyone was, especially the 4 jailors who do a tough job and are often under appreciated by the people in their care.”
Saggar said the reaction has been overwhelmingly positive.
“One thing that I found surprising that I didn’t even think of was a lot of people were mentioning that this was one of the most Canadian things they had ever seen. They were relating it to Canadian culture and I have to say I think that’s accurate.”
There is inevitable interaction between the guards and prisoners during their stay. Saggar said, for the most part they’re good relationships.
“Usually by the time someone is arrested and they get transported back to our cells, they’ve had time to calm down, the process has been explained to them and so usually the majority of the time it ends of up being a cordial interaction.”
But they’ve never been thanked, officially in a note – nor have they gotten a rating.
“4.5 star rating was really interesting to see too,” said Saggar.
The front of the handmade card was filled with paper airplanes and luggage at the bottom with a message in the middle: “If, for some reason, our airplane was experiencing problems, I would help you with your oxygen mask before adjusting mine.”
It’s unclear what the woman was arrested for, and if this was her first stay with West Shore RCMP.
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