Manitoba’s top Mountie picture of growing gender equality By: Carol Sanders Posted: 6:19 PM CST Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 20/02/2019 (2138 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Outside her office at RCMP headquarters on Portage Avenue is a photo wall of the dozens of Mounties who’ve been in charge of Manitoba. When Assistant Commissioner Jane MacLatchy’s official portrait is soon added, it will be the first to show a woman in command.

MacLatchy joined the RCMP in 1988 when there was just one woman she knew of in a leadership role. Now seven of 15 commanders across Canada are women — and the RCMP for the first time is being run by a woman, Commissioner Brenda Lucki.

“When she was named commissioner, I was really happy to see it,” said MacLatchy. “She’s always very down to earth and real. You can tell she cares about people and I care about people. I very much appreciate her leadership style.”

In Winnipeg, MacLatchy is responsible for more than 1,000 regular members and approximately 500 civilian employees in 80 detachments across the province as well at the Manitoba RCMP headquarters in Winnipeg.

The 53-year-old said she’s seen big changes in the RCMP since she joined.

“I thought you had to have a thick skin,” recalled MacLatchy whose lifelong dream was to be a Mountie like the ones she remembered from her childhood outside Halifax, stopping to say hello and providing a reassuring presence.

“They’d come to our schools and they would always stop when they were driving by and say ‘hi’. I was just in awe of the RCMP when I was a little girl. I thought they were fabulous,” said MacLatchy, who became the first police officer in her family.

“31 years ago, not every member of the general public was happy to see a female arriving to deal with whatever their problem was.”

She still thinks they’re fabulous but doesn’t think a “thick skin” should be a prerequisite for the job.

“That’s just wrong,” said the wife and grandmother, who considers herself lucky not to have been subjected to sexual harassment on the job but knows others have.

“There have been a few difficult people,” said MacLatchy. “I’m a very up-front kind of person. I’m fortunate I was able to stand up for myself … That being said, not everybody was so fortunate. I wish them all the power and the support they need.” She said she knows the RCMP can be like a family with its members rooting for each other.

“I’ve been supported, I’ve been championed, I’ve been mentored and the vast majority of people I’ve worked with are men,” said MacLatchy, who sees the RCMP making efforts to better reflect the diverse population it serves.

“As an organization we’re making great strides. I think of where we were 30 years ago when I joined this outfit to now and it’s amazing the differences.” Seeing women leading the RCMP is the biggest change, she said.

“In my first detachment, I was the only female,” said MacLatchy who was posted to Prince George in northern B.C. “And 31 years ago, not every member of the general public was happy to see a female arriving to deal with whatever their problem was.”

On her first shift, she got into a fight. “Someone didn’t like the idea of me putting handcuffs on them,” said MacLatchy, noting that was a time before pepper spray or Tasers. She had to use her physical-conflict training to take control of the situation and cuff the offender.

“You’d show them you can do the job. That’s always been my attitude.”

In Manitoba, one of her priorities as commanding officer is to modernize policing and be more innovative, said MacLatchy who’s been on the job here less than two weeks. She sees illicit drugs like cocaine and methamphetamine and all the social problems that go with them as the biggest threats. Manitoba’s crime severity index and the rate of violent crime are high and she wants to lower them by working with communities on prevention, she said.

“It’s pretty obvious to me that after almost 31 years in this job, we’ve targeted enforcement. That’s important but it’s attacking the root causes and understanding why people get off track and who’s at risk.”

MacLatchy wants to help communities mobilize services and get them to vulnerable people who might become victims or perpetrators.

“Let’s see if we can get upstream, so we get help to people before they go off track. If we can identify the people and families and especially the youth and get them the supports they need to succeed, it will reduce our stats across the board, increase community safety and give people a chance to really thrive. That’s what I like to see.”

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca

Carol Sanders
Legislature reporter

After 20 years of reporting on the growing diversity of people calling Manitoba home, Carol moved to the legislature bureau in early 2020.

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