Dealing with the growing fentanyl crisis is now one of the Sunshine Coast RCMP detachment’s top priorities, Staff Sgt. Vishal Mathura told the regional policing committee at its Jan. 19 meeting.
The meeting was the first since last October, when Mathura said RCMP were being trained to use naloxone and properly handle drugs that might contain the highly toxic opioid, but that it hadn’t yet emerged as a problem on the Coast.
“That’s changed,” Mathura said.
“In the last few weeks we’ve had at least three fentanyl-related deaths.”
RCMP and Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) started noticing the spike in opioid ODs in mid-December, as reported in Coast Reporter on Jan. 13.
“As these overdoses are not police-reportable, Sunshine Coast RCMP is not hearing about them until later,” Mathura said. “In conversations with hospital officials it was agreed that from a community health and safety perspective, it would be a huge benefit for police to be aware of the number of overdoses, to assess the risk and assign resources accordingly.”
Mathura added that the primary focus of the detachment’s plain-clothes investigators has shifted to trying to find out how illicit fentanyl is coming to the Sunshine Coast and “disrupting that drug activity.”
He also said all officers are now treating any drugs seized as though they’re potentially contaminated by fentanyl.
Greg Russell, the School District No. 46 representative on the committee, praised RCMP and VCH for the outreach work they’ve been doing with students on drug issues. And Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) chief administrative officer Janette Loveys noted that firefighters under SCRD jurisdiction are now trained on the use of naloxone and the fire departments have been supplied with kits.
Mathura said a key message they’d like to get out to the public is that if you see someone you suspect is suffering an overdose, call 911 right away.
Staffing
Staffing was another issue raised by Mathura at an earlier committee meeting, but he said at the Jan. 19 meeting that the detachment is now at full strength for the first time since he took command.
“We’re very well positioned,” he said, noting that for a short time at least the detachment will actually be above its usual complement because of crossover between arriving and departing officers.
Furry recruit
Mathura also told the committee the Sunshine Coast detachment is going to be playing a part in the training of a new RCMP police dog that’s been raised by one of the local members. Mathura explained that there’s a window when the puppies are still less than a year old where they need to be socialized, and they spend time in the detachment offices before continuing their training.
“That’s always a fun time at the detachment,” he said. “Everyone loves puppies.”
