St. Albert's top cop is headed south to Red Deer.
RCMP Chief Superintendent Jerry Scott (the district commander of the central Alberta RCMP) announced Thursday that St. Albert's Insp. Ken Foster would be taking over the Red Deer detachment as of this fall. Foster will be promoted to superintendent for the role.
Foster has served 25 years with the RCMP and has been head of the St. Albert detachment since August 2015. Prior to that, he oversaw 12 detachments in the Yukon.
Red Deer is not only the biggest RCMP detachment in the province but also the place where Foster was sworn in as a police officer.
Foster said Red Deer would be a big jump in responsibility for him, as he'll go from overseeing about 100 staff to 260.
"The decision to go there was very difficult," Foster said, as St. Albert was a great community.
Foster said he originally planned to stick around here for a few years, but he couldn't pass up the chance to run Alberta's biggest RCMP detachment, especially since he also has family around Red Deer.
"In our organization, the stars rarely align where you can get an advancement and go back to your family."
Mayor Nolan Crouse congratulated Foster on his promotion and wished him the best.
"It's kind of too bad we're losing another inspector," he said, but he was confident Foster's replacement would be just as good.
Foster reflects
Looking back, Foster said his top priority in his first six months in St. Albert was to ensure the wellbeing of his staff after the shooting at the Apex Casino.
"Clearly, we had people who were still hurt by that situation," he said.
Much of his efforts centred on setting a tone of teamwork and togetherness at the detachment to ensure everyone was focused on the same goal: public safety. He also made it a priority to bring back quarterly police reports to boost public confidence.
Foster has also had to deal with a push from city council and the public to create a new policing committee. The old one was disbanded by his predecessor, Insp. Kevin Murray, as it was no longer fulfilling its mandate.
"Any hint that I've been resistant (to a committee) is absolutely, unequivocally wrong," Foster said.
"What I was reacting to is going back to what we had before."
Foster said he supported council's efforts to create a new committee provided it gives police a better ear into the community and acted proactively to solve community issues.
Foster also started a push for police to address mental health issues in St. Albert – a move he said has already drawn many appreciative calls from residents.
Foster said his favourite moment of the last year was when he got to be a drill sergeant at the St. Albert RCMP Youth Academy. He got to see 38 teens with teenaged attitudes come together to perform a complex drill routine in under a week, and said he was touched to hear those students come up to him upon receiving their graduation certificates to say how eager they were to join the RCMP.
"The pride that they demonstrated at the end of their graduation ... that's probably the proudest moment, the highlight of being here."
Foster said he hoped to start a similar program in Red Deer.
Foster said it would be a few months before he steps down as detachment commander, as he still has to sell his house. When he does, Staff Sgt. Jeff Jacobson or Staff Sgt. Tony Dickens will take over until his replacement arrives.
Foster encouraged residents to stay engaged with each other and their police officers, as it was that willingness to get involved that had given St. Albert the lowest crime severity index rating in Alberta amongst large municipalities.
"St. Albert should be very proud of the fact that the level of safety this community has and the level of public support for the police (here) is second to none."
