After just over a year on the job, the Detachment Commander of the Airdrie RCMP says adjusting to the new role hasn’t been that difficult.

Inspector Kim Pasloske took on the job of Commander in Airdrie last May. She says the first thing that made the transition easy for her was her familiarity with the area.

“I actually came from the Didsbury detachment so I was just in the neighbouring detachment to the north and I came to Airdrie. The types of crime and the perspective of that, I was well used to. I actually grew up in the area so I had a good understanding of the community and the issues facing policing in the area so I was lucky that way.”

Pasloske grew up in Carstairs.  She has more than 20 years experience with the RCMP, starting with them in Port Alberni, B.C. and also spent time in Fort McMurray.  She has worked in the General Investigation Section and the Major Crimes Unit.

Pasloske says since she's become the Airdrie Commander, she has definitely put her stamp on the detachment. 

"I can 100 percent tell you I've made some changes within the detachment, some restructuring, some focuses.  We've developed within our teams some pretty strong expectations of what I want them to achieve during their tenure here in the year.  Definitely, I've done some restructuring and some expectation building with our teams."

One of the real successes that Pasloske points to is making the Airdrie RCMP's Crime Reduction Team larger and more efficient.  She says, "It used to be an Airdrie focused team but, as we all know, criminals travel, they go all over the place.  By having that Rocky View County component I'm able to address the crime in Airdrie and the surrounding area, allowing the team to flex back and forth.  We pay very close attention to how much time they spend in Airdrie and how much time they spend in Rocky View according to the team's dynamics.  It's allowed them to address crime reduction in a much more holistic manner, so it's been hugely successful that way."

Pasloske and her team have set three areas of focus for the year ahead.  "One is crime reduction.  The second is our mental health team that we've just established. It's a collaborative team that we've already seen some incredible results from.  The third is traffic safety.  That's our focuses for this year.  We've got our foot on the pedal and we intend to keep moving on."

The thing that's surprised Pasloske the most about her role is just how busy at the Airdrie detachment.  "I used to supervise 14 members and now I supervise 99 so that's quite  the difference for me."

Pasloske says she's learned to love Airdrie, the residents here and the people she works with at the detachment.  "We've hugely supported by the city and the county and it's just a great place to be."

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