It didn’t take long for Jasper RCMP Corp. Ryan Gardiner to make his mark on Jasper, however, just as quickly as he came, Gardiner is packing up and bidding farewell.
On June 30, he’ll transfer to Surrey, B.C., where he’ll be working with the city’s freeway patrol unit.
“I’m excited for the move. I’ll miss Jasper for sure—the lifestyle that I was able to live here was certainly the best,” Gardiner said. “I got really into mountain biking here and went from being the guy in the back of the pack of group rides to taking home winning titles.
“I really will miss this lifestyle and all the great people I’ve met in town.”
Gardiner first showed up in Jasper in 2012, after transferring from a post in his hometown of Prince Albert, Sask. Within a year he took over as acting sergeant while Sgt. Dave Maludzinski was on medical leave. In February, Sgt. Rick Bidaisee took over for Gardiner.
“Thanks to the good group of guys I had working for me, the transition into acting sergeant was very easy,” said Gardiner adding that out of all the places he has worked as an officer, Jasper has been his most relaxed post.
However, that being said, the job didn’t come without its challenges.
According to Gardiner, when he first came to Jasper he noticed the town’s most prevalent crimes revolved around drug abuse and sales, along with mischief and vandalism.
“Right away I knew these were issues that I really wanted to tackle,” Gardiner said. “And I feel that we’ve done a fairly good job in doing that. In the past few years we’ve had some instances where we were able to put away or charge people for dealing drugs or illicit substances.”
In regards to mischief and vandalism, Gardiner said those crimes have been reduced by about 43 per cent since 2012.
“We started doing foot patrols at night in both residential areas and the downtown core, and we think that helped,” he said. “You have the odd incident where people do some silly things, but overall we’ve seen damage to buildings and cars majorly reduced—and that’s one thing I’m very proud of my team for doing.”
While Gardiner praises his fellow colleagues, he said the RCMP has a great deal of appreciation for its partnership with Parks Canada.
“Coming from other places where there was a lot of crime, being able to work with Parks Canada has been an extreme advantage because we have these two great partners helping each other out,” Gardiner said. “We can always rely on Parks and their good team of people whether it’s a case of a lost person or other things.”
Looking ahead, Gardiner said he hopes the RCMP and other community partners can work together to continue tackling drug related crimes in Jasper.
“Drugs are huge and that’s something we need to continue to focus on,” said Gardiner, adding that drugs are a problem in most communities he’s worked in. “Drugs always lead to other criminal activities, but I have full confidence in Rick (Bidaisee) and the rest of the team.
“Rick has lots of experience and he’s really good at his job.”
While Jasper has been his home for the past four years, Gardiner said he’s ready for whatever changes Surrey will bring.
“One of the best things about the West Coast is the mountain biking so I’m going to keep riding and improving my skills,” Gardiner said. “Jasper isn’t that far away and I’ve made some really good friends so I’m sure I’ll be back for visits.”
Kayla Byrne [email protected]
