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Coronation to get new RCMP Sgt.

Sgt. Darcy McGunigal leaving
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By Kevin Sabo Contributor

The RCMP detachment in Coronation will have a new top cop. After four years as the sergeant in charge of Coronation, Sgt. Darcy McGunigal will leave sometime in late June or early July to take a position in Edmonton at the RCMP Career Development and Resourcing office.

Sgt. McGunigal said he and his family enjoyed their time in the area.

“It’s a fantastic community with everything we need, and perhaps even more than we had hoped it would be.”

Due to Coronation being a limited duration post, RCMP members routinely come and go through the region, some coming straight from training in Regina, others having served in other detachments, but all moving on after about four years. Different detachments are having varying lengths of time as far as limited duration, with Coronation being a four-year post. Several factors weigh into the length of posting, such as how busy the detachment is, how remote the detachment is, and even factors such as school availability for members with children are taken into consideration.

The coming and going from the detachment, however, doesn’t take away from its effectiveness. When Sgt. McGunigal came to the post four years ago, he said he walked in to a “very good situation” in the detachment, with it having fantastic officers and excellent support staff already in place and he is aiming to pass that on to the next commander.

One of the first initiatives that Sgt. McGunigal brought in place four years ago was the Habitual Offender Management initiative, with Coronation being one of the first detachments to begin this program. Currently, the initiative was rolled out provincially as a required policing priority for the 2018 year.

The Habitual Offender Management initiative is a program that focuses on reducing the crime rate, especially property crimes, by focusing on the offenders committing them. Sgt. Mcgunigal said that for the most part in our communities, the majority of crimes are committed by a small number of people. The program focuses on arresting the accused, then when released prior to trial, requesting conditions be placed on the individual in relation to their alleged crime. An example of this would be if someone is accused of a property crime at two in the morning, the condition of a curfew would be requested.

In conjunction with the program, with changes that have been made in the support staff, the RCMP members are spending more time on the road, creating a pro-active policing presence. Each of the members are also assigned a person who has been deemed to be a habitual offender, and they will pro-actively randomly check that the individual is meeting his/her conditions. With these programs, there has been shown to be a year-over-year decrease in crimes in the area, as well as an increased presence with traffic enforcement.

Sgt. Mcgunigal also wants to let residents know that Coronation is “at or near” the top of the list in Alberta for a new RCMP barracks, with construction beginning sometime in a couple of years. It will be located on Windsor Avenue in Coronation, at the site of the old building.

The RCMP has begun the process of finding a new commander for Coronation, and more information will be provided when available.