New RCMP Detachment Opens to the Public
Cornwall Ontario – On Friday, December 11 the RCMP welcomed their Commissioner William J.S Elliot and local dignitaries for the official opening of the new detachment building.
Located on 501 Tollgate Rd., the 4250m2 15 million dollar building has been introduced as a new weapon on the battlefield for the RCMP in their ongoing war on smuggling.
The new detachment building holds five different law enforcement units: Customs and Excise Section, Federal Enforcement Section, Integrated Border Enforcement Team, Criminal Intelligence Section, and the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit. It is agreed among law enforcement agencies that the best way to combat smuggling is in this community is to be all working under the same roof. According to Elliot, “this is a centralized command center with 50 employees. Hopefully this means that fewer cigarette-filled cars will be racing through the community.”
When asked how this new state of the art facility will help the RCMP in their struggle with smuggling, Sgt. Michael Harvey said, “with the joint effort that will be going on between the different units, along with our new centralized command center we will be able to put a damper on the trade of drugs going south and the cigarettes coming north.”
Smuggling has been a lucrative business because of how cheap cigarettes can be purchased illegally in Canada how expensive illicit drugs are in the United States. According to Harvey, the statistics are surprising, stating “marijuana can be purchased for roughly $2000 a pound here and go for $4000 in New York state and as much as $8000 in Florida.”
The RCMP has received a major upgrade in how they identify their suspects as they have a digital fingerprint machine. This new device is connected to the RCMP National Identification Center and can instantly determine whether or not their suspect has any outstanding warrants.
With smuggling continuing to escalate, the new facilities could not have become available to the RCMP and their colleagues at a better time. Describing the situation, Assistant Commissioner Mike McDonell said, “we are committed to the safety of this community and this building is for every law enforcement agency, it’s ours together.”
Pictured: Commissioner William J.S Elliot, Guy Lauzon, Assistant Commissioner Mike Mcdonell.
Story and photo courtesy Markus Noé.
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