![A female RCMP officer uses a flashlight to inspect a small package that she is holding with gloved hands. It is night and she is lit by the lights of a police car.](/sites/default/files/styles/gazette_crop/public/cover-bright.jpg?sc=2d4ad402d92aaccc1aa8070f3246da3e)
Vol. 81, No. 1
Handle with care Spotlight on health and safety
Table of contents
Editorial message
![Male police officer wearing a high-visibility vest stands next to a car stopped on a busy highway. He speaks to the male driver while holding a notebook. A police car with lights flashing is parked in the foreground.](/sites/default/files/styles/gazette_crop/public/editorial_9.jpg?sc=e69f45564644a4befb5f49feef20d99f)
Striving for safer, healthier employees
When we first started planning our issue on health and safety, we thought each story would easily fall under one category or the other.
News notes
![A female police officer stands next to her police car, writing on a clipboard. There is an apartment building and rental sign in the background.](/sites/default/files/styles/gazette_crop/public/crimefree-kading.jpg?sc=bf7f0ae30aaf2e7b9a516fa5beb53972)
Community program increases residential safety
Residents in some apartment buildings will feel more secure now that Comox Valley RCMP has created a Crime Free Multi-Housing Program in their community.
![Male RCMP officer standing next to police car on a street.](/sites/default/files/styles/gazette_crop/public/caryankee.jpg?sc=f3b092593385be0c3230ad2f0bc07b57)
Program keeps troubled kids out of justice system
A new partnership between police and youth probation officers in Surrey, B.C., aims to keep troubled kids on the right track.
![A snow-covered dog.](/sites/default/files/styles/gazette_crop/public/avalanche-edit.jpg?sc=1944aad5b8d1b76fa0187de878ab3e16)
Every second counts in avalanche rescue
When a person is buried violently underneath metres of snow, avalanche rescue dogs and their handlers must respond rapidly.
![Small square of moose hide pinned on a police officer's white shirt.](/sites/default/files/styles/gazette_crop/public/moose-hide-rev.jpg?sc=f1610ce7ad1d957a4a421a1e1b7d04ce)
Grassroots movement aims to prevent violence
It's a small square with a big meaning.
Cover stories
![RCMP officer's boots walking on icy/snowy road.](/sites/default/files/styles/gazette_crop/public/injuries.jpg?sc=0a4c7f1076c6d8236dae2712a2ca1381)
Key to a safe workplace
Policing can be a dangerous job and officers undergo regular training to protect themselves and the public. But operations aside, all RCMP employees also have a responsibility for their own safety and wellbeing.
![Female police officer working behind a desk.](/sites/default/files/styles/gazette_crop/public/r2mr_3.jpg?sc=9e06a2796b76c12992cfca7ba551e791)
The road to healing
When the RCMP's Road to Mental Health Readiness course, or R2MR, was piloted at Codiac detachment in New Brunswick in 2013, many people didn't take it seriously.
![Male police officer in plain clothes holds a piece of folded paper in the palm of his hand.](/sites/default/files/styles/gazette_crop/public/fentanyl_1.jpg?sc=4a6e151179c4df9c2a0ef4596a993817)
Safe handling
For most scenarios in which police officers have contact with fentanyl, wearing gloves appears to be enough to protect against overexposure.
![RCMP car on a highway with billowing smoke in the sky.](/sites/default/files/styles/gazette_crop/public/fires_0.jpg?sc=faf6d6536e2fc16aa4095fa69815dbb8)
Helping the helpers
As fires ravaged the forests of British Columbia last summer, RCMP officers worked long shifts to protect threatened communities — and a team of colleagues, in turn, worked to look after them.
![A group of cadets in uniform stand in a semi-circle around a police car.](/sites/default/files/styles/gazette_crop/public/study.jpg?sc=a29b4b7342c112dc90f8add13d44cd30)
Studying stress in police work
The University of Regina has begun its study on how policing affects the mental health of RCMP officers.
![Police officer aiming a firearm at a firing range.](/sites/default/files/styles/gazette_crop/public/re-integration3.jpg?sc=9e2485b34691a71344dc6c879fcd0ee9)
Return to work
Helping RCMP officers get back to work after a critical incident involves a network of people who provide professional help, patience and time to support their colleagues' return.
![Woman smiles while lifting barbells with two women lifting weights next to her.](/sites/default/files/styles/gazette_crop/public/fitness_0.jpg?sc=2d4ad402d92aaccc1aa8070f3246da3e)
Winning workouts
Nine years ago, civilian member Roxanne Blanchette would watch her police co-workers practise their fitness test, known as PARE, on the heli-pad visible from her office window at the Fredericton RCMP detachment.
Panel discussion
![A male police officer stands next to his police car at night, writing in his notebook. There is a blurred image of a bus moving behind him.](/sites/default/files/styles/gazette_crop/public/panel.jpg?sc=0e93f1e815e00fa44a1dc3115244812f)
How can officers stay safe in their cars?
We asked four RCMP experts to tell us the biggest dangers they face in their cars, and how police can reduce the risk of injury to themselves and to the public.
Ask an expert
![Female police officer standing in front of an armoured vehicle.](/sites/default/files/styles/gazette_crop/public/expert2.jpg?sc=3b7c1253c613db1be121b40b666d8c67)
Calling the shots
When the RCMP responds to a crisis situation in New Brunswick or Prince Edward Island deciding when to send in a tactical vehicle, bomb squad or canine unit is Supt. Lucie Dubois's call.
Just the facts
![Graphic showing a cartoon of a male criminal behind bars / posing for a mug shot.](/sites/default/files/styles/gazette_crop/public/just-the-facts-web.jpg?sc=5c62aafce8fcd31944ceb8e12ccc84ca)
Repeat offenders
Why do some ex-convicts relapse into crime? The answer can be complex and contradictory. But some facts are clear: keeping people out of jail in the first place helps them avoid a second or multiple incarcerations.
Detachment profile
![Hatless male police officer speaks with seated man embracing a big black dog.](/sites/default/files/styles/gazette_crop/public/elsipogtog-web.jpg?sc=b9d66903f7c203224ac63ad2a254bc7a)
Trust is everything
At the RCMP's Elsipogtog detachment in New Brunswick, an eagle feather rests on top of a dresser in Sgt. Bill Collier's office. Receiving one is the highest honour among Indigenous people.
Training
![A female RCMP officer stands in a riding ring, holding a crop. She watches other officers ride their horses.](/sites/default/files/styles/gazette_crop/public/musicalride-web.jpg?sc=32c21ed90bd4b2c40e89f3c006472ce0)
Making better-formed officers
Officers with the RCMP's Musical Ride are known for their horsemanship, but their time with the ride is more than an equine experience. The ride reinforces skills that are invaluable to police work.
New technology
![Male RCMP officer speaks into hand-held radio.](/sites/default/files/styles/gazette_crop/public/radio_0.jpg?sc=53a0561b0c1d9d7d8e808658ee38d715)
Loud and clear
A new radio communication system used during the G7 summit in Quebec last summer is being deployed for use by the RCMP in Central Canada.
Last page
![A young boy wearing a firefighter's jacket and helmet runs and smiles. A woman stands behind him smiling.](/sites/default/files/styles/gazette_crop/public/camp.jpg?sc=b01b60f07002c97b604134be5af092cd)
Coping with loss
Dozens of people gather at a family camp each summer to deal with the loss of loved ones — Canadian first responders who died in the line of duty, suddenly or by their own hand.
![Cover of magazine](/sites/default/files/vol-81-no-1-eng.jpg)
NOTE: An electronic version of this issue of Gazette magazine is available.
Masthead
- Publisher:
- Kevin Fowler
- Editor:
-
- Katherine Aldred
- Writers:
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- Paul Northcott
Travis Poland
Patricia Vasylchuk
- Paul Northcott
- Web publisher:
- Richard Vieira
- Graphic design:
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- Jennifer Wale
Samantha Clusiau-Lawlor
- Jennifer Wale
- Translation:
- RCMP Translation Services
- Printing:
- Performance Printing
- Date modified: