St. Albert RCMP detachment commander Insp. Pamela Robinson has policed different areas of Alberta for 20 years and is acutely aware that crime has no boundaries.
Proud of her merits as a law enforcement professional, Robinson has completed a three-year stint at the St. Albert detachment and will transfer to Edmonton’s K-Division Serious Crimes Branch starting Jan. 4.
“I was excited for the opportunity it would bring. I worked in the unit sporadically in the past with many of the investigators that are there, so I was excited for the opportunity ... to support my development and growth and to see another opportunity for policing,” said Robinson.
K-Division's Serious Crimes Branch is a provincial unit that investigates major crimes outside the scope of local detachments including homicide or complex crimes requiring a broad range of investigative techniques and tools.
“Because we are the RCMP, we have national partnerships and policies in our procedures and how we conduct business,” Robinson explained.
Mayor Cathy Heron expressed warm words on the commander's time in St. Albert, and how her practical experience and collaborative work assisted the city.
“Inspector Pam Robinson has done an excellent job helping keep St. Albert one of the safest cities in Alberta and Canada. She was also instrumental in the development of our new policing committee, which council really appreciated. As mayor, I have thoroughly enjoyed working with Pam over the past three years and wish her all the best in her future career opportunities,” Heron said.
Although one of St. Albert’s most prominent citizens, few residents know Robinson grew up in Clarke’s Head in Gander Bay.
“I grew up in rural Newfoundland where the RCMP had a big influence in my community for supporting families. I always looked at them with great pride and just wanted to be part of something bigger. Very early in my life, I realized I wanted to help others. I studied nursing, but realized policing was more my passion and switched over for the opportunities the RCMP presented – being able to work across Canada in different disciplines. It’s been extremely rewarding and I couldn’t imagine doing anything else.”
Her entry into the RCMP started in Fort McMurray on general duty assignments followed by a transfer to Sherwood Park working on crime reduction and drug units. There was no shortage of action when Robinson moved up the ladder and was promoted to Watch Corporal in Airdrie.
Making her way back to the Edmonton area, she worked with the KARE Unit and ALERT (Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team) where she was leader of an organized crime enforcement team.
Robinson transferred to St. Albert in 2017 from ALERT upon receiving her commission to the Inspector rank. As commander, her duties were operational and administrative. Upon arriving at the city detachment, her primary strategy was understanding the community’s needs and prioritizing the best ways to respond. It also meant familiarizing herself with staff that currently number 66 officers and 27.5 support staff and municipal employees including the Emergency Operations Centre.
“When I came in, I didn’t feel like anything was broken. I think there were new opportunities with new leadership that there always are to re-evaluate the current practices of what's occurring in our detachment," she said.
“In doing so, in the last three years we really focused on crime reduction and community education. We’ve done a lot of things working with the Police Committee which is newly established, and supporting SAM (St. Albert Strategy and Mobilization Committee) where we collectively track emerging trends and address the primary causes and conflicts within the community. We implemented VTRA (Violence Threat Risk Assessment Protocol). We’ve done Project Capture. We’ve implemented the Crime Map and Lock It or Lose It.”
Asked if there were any special moments of pride that stood out, Robinson spoke from the heart giving credit to comrades-in-arms.
“My moments are all the initiatives in everyday work that we complete here. In policing there is no one event that would stand out more than the other. We’re trained to be flexible and adapt and we continue to do so. I think we’ve got upstanding employees and RCMP members who work very hard. They truly care about the community and that shows every day in the work that they complete.”
In closing, Robinson sends a special thank-you for the partnerships and support she’s received in the last three years.
“St. Albert has always been very welcoming. I said when I first came in that there are good people wanting to do good things and that was demonstrated throughout my time here. Again, thanks to everyone I’ve crossed paths with over the years.”
