Yukon RCMP Adds Community Program Officer and Second Police Dog

The Yukon RCMP is creating a civilian community program officer position to handle community policing duties previously assigned to sworn officers. Chief Supt. Lindsay Ellis told CBC's Yukon Morning that the role will allow frontline officers to focus on core policing responsibilities.

March the Yukon government announced more than $3 million for 10 police positions, $1 million for operations and gear, and over $3 million for RCMP infrastructure upgrades. The funding supports two crime reduction unit positions, three emergency response team personnel, one Whitehorse Detachment position, an access-to-information coordinator, and a Haines Junction detachment constable.

Ellis said the RCMP and the Justice Department are still finalizing the 2026-27 budget numbers.

The same funding will pay for a new call handling system at the dispatch centre, a tactical armoured vehicle acquired last year, and a replacement engine for the M Division plane. Renovations at living quarters and the Old Crow and Haines Junction detachments are also planned, along with a possible new detachment building in Whitehorse.

Ellis said the current headquarters on 4th Avenue, built in the 1970s, no longer meets current policing needs.

Earlier this spring, MLAs voted unanimously to include police in a review of the Whitehorse Emergency Shelter at 405 Alexander St. Connective Support Society, which operates the shelter, recently gave three-month notice to end its contract. If no new operator is found by July, Health and Social Services Minister Brad Cathers said the Health department will take over temporarily.

Ellis said drug trafficking occurs outside the shelter and that police are working to disrupt it while protecting people who use the facility. She noted that earlier periods with fewer services at the shelter were associated with higher rates of unreported crime and serious incidents.

Ellis said the RCMP continues to participate in downtown safety committees with the City of Whitehorse, Council of Yukon First Nations, and non-government organizations.