Today’s Poll

Focus on safe community highlights induction of new chief

Nelson Daily Editor
By Nelson Daily Editor
January 28th, 2011

By Timothy Schafer, The Nelson Daily

You couldn’t have picked a better time to go on a crime spree.

With virtually every on duty and all off duty police officers at the Nelson Courthouse Thursday afternoon to witness the changing of the chief constable for the Nelson Police Department, Nelson’s finest were fortunate to have been able to observe the moment unscathed without any nefarious incident elsewhere in the community.

But it was exactly that sentiment — of Nelson being a relatively safe and crime free community — that became the mantra of the afternoon as the passing of the command for retiring police chief Dan Maluta was bequeathed to Wayne Holland.

“It’s difficult to put a monetary value on sleeping in a community where you feel safe,” said Mayor John Dooley during the proceddings. “But it’s an important factor in this community, as it has been for over 100 years.”

His sentiments were echoed by Nelson-Creston MLA Michelle Mungall, who admitted she did not lock the doors of her Nelson home when she went out (although she might now after the public admission).

“We have a safe community, and no doubt in my mind it is because we have a community policing department that focuses on this community,” she said.

Mungall told Holland to be prepared for the large amount of demonstrations the city plays host to on an annual basis,

“I’ve attended more than a few protests in my time,” Holland said later, “and a few of them turned out to be a riot.”

But it was a serious ceremony in the courthouse, complete with a bagpiper, a BC Supreme Court judge, the NPD honour guard, over one dozen of the top retired police officers from the region, and dozens of City staff, politicians and citizens while the upstairs federal court room laid witness to momentous event.

Maluta’s speech was short and to the point. Having served 21 years in the community as a police officer — and as the chief constable since 2001 — his stamp on the city’s police force will be wide reaching and lasting, said Holland.

But he did not tip his hand on the way he might direct the future of law enforcement in the city, or if he would deviate from the “no tolerance” course laid by Maluta.

“Dan, you leave the Nelson Police Department with a fine legacy of accomplishment,” he said.

Chief Holland asked for the trust of the community and the police force as he worked closely with everyone in the all important coming months in the city.

“I do not ask you to accept me unequivocally, not until I have proven myself to each and every one of you as an individual, and as a group,” he said.

editor@thenelsondaily.com

 

The history of the force

The Nelson Police Department is among the oldest in the province.

It came into being as a municipal police force on April 17, 1897. The initial force consisted of a chief constable and one constable.

Robert A. Winearls, appointed the first chief constable, quit over a salary dispute less than one month after he was hired, on May 9, 1897. The salary at that time of $65 per month was debated frequently during those early days at City council, and was increased to $80 per month on June 7, 1897.
In the early days of Nelson, the brothels were situated at the east end of Baker Street. By the beginning of the 1900’s, public discontent led to the relocation of the brothels to Lake Street.

The women of Lake Street were rarely seen in public, as they needed special permission from the chief of police to go out during the day.
Historical urban legend has Nelson policemen throwing rocks against the side of the houses on Lake Street, knowing that they would get called, and once their investigation was complete would get invited in for a beer.

They conducted regular raids of the Lake Street houses and fines were given to the inhabitants. Further rumour involves reports that one Madame got so tired of the police raids that she went to City council and offered to buy new uniforms for the police if they agreed to leave her establishment alone. Apparently, City council agreed.

Longest serving chief

One of Nelson’s longest standing chiefs was Thomas Long, who served as chief from 1914 to 1932. He came to Nelson after serving as chief of police in Rossland for 10 years.

The longest standing career of a Nelson policeman was that of Robert Harshaw, who joined the force in 1930. He was promoted to sergeant in 1932 and became the chief of police in 1947 when George Bone retired. Harshaw held the chief’s position until his retirement in 1965.

Harshaw always believed that the beat officer was a very important position. By being out on the street on foot, the officer was part of the community and the community came to his assistance when needed.

 

Early life on the beat

The early days of policing in Nelson had beat officers out on Baker Street without today’s radio and computer systems of communication. Two beacon lights were set up in strategic locations: one at the east end of Baker Street, by the hospital, and the other one on Ward Street.

These lights were used to warn the patrols of trouble. If the beacons were lit, the patrols would phone the office to find out the trouble. If a vehicle was needed, a taxi was used to get to the location. Taxis were used to transport prisoners to jail, and injured parties to hospital.

 

The location of the police station

The initial police department, along with City Hall offices, was housed in a small building at the foot of Front Street.

When the provincial jail facility vacated its premises at the location of the present City Hall White Building, the police department had grown sufficiently to utilize the larger facility, complete with existing jail cells.

At various points in their history, the police department occupied the second floor of a building at the corner of Vernon and Stanley Street and the bottom floor of the building housing the present Salvation Army store at the foot of Josephine Street.

The department finally moved to its existing quarters at 606 Stanley St. in 1992, the former location of the Nelson detachment of the RCMP. The current home also accommodates the bylaw officers and Victim Services, and the cell block at this location also serves as a remand centre for RCMP prisoners.

The force today

Over the 113 years of its existence, the Nelson Police Department has grown from two to 20 members.

Today, the Nelson Police deal with a wide range of problems. Our modern, technologically dependent society has produced a complex web of laws which must be enforced by police. Societal and cultural evolution has resulted in more stringent standards for conduct of police members.

But the fact remains that today, as in 1897, Nelson is a community still small enough for its residents to know and help each other.

 

Source: http://www.nelsonpolice.ca/history.htm

 

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