By Chad Klassen

New Kamloops RCMP ops officer impressed with detachment’s staffing levels

Jan 23, 2018 | 1:04 PM

KAMLOOPS — The Kamloops RCMP’s new Operations Officer, Insp. Todd Balaban has started on the job, spending his first two days familiarizing himself with the detachment he now calls home. 

Balaban, who takes over from the departing Insp. Sunny Parmar, comes to Kamloops from E-Division’s Traffic Services Unit based in the Lower Mainland.

Balaban noted he’s worked in every capacity in the RCMP, including work in general duty, serious crimes and the special enforcement unit, and Balaban said that will serve him well in a position that requires oversight of every department. 

“It’s supporting the frontline members to support operations. The simple fact is, we’re here to police the community. Safe homes, safe communities,” said Balaban. “We want to make sure we meet our mandate and do files in a timely manner and support operations. My role is directly supporting operational members, whether it’s general duty or the drug section, street crews, serious crime. Making sure they have the tools and the investigative aids and avenues to do their job effectively.”

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Balaban noted the City of Kamloops’ commitment to fund up to 131 police officers will make his job as the inspector much easier moving forward. 

“We have a Sgt. Darren Michels that’s now in charge of our HR, and I’ll be very blunt, I’m very impressed with our staffing levels where they’re at,” he said. “I’m impressed we were able to get new recruits coming in, and from what I understand, we’re at a higher level than we’ve been at in quite some time. So we’re actually looking pretty good.”

The Kamloops RCMP is currently operating with a fleet of 120 officers. Balaban said another four recruits are expected to arrive in the city in the coming months.