After eight months in the role, Sunshine Coast RCMP's acting detachment commander Staff Sgt. Jennifer Prunty can now drop the “acting” from her title.
Prunty is the new permanent detachment commander for the Coast, stepping into the shoes Staff Sgt. Poppy Hallam vacated more than a year ago. Hallam was the first woman to fill that role on the Sunshine Coast. The detachment commander position has been filled temporarily by three sergeants since Hallam left, the last being Prunty, who started in July.
Prunty joined the RCMP in 2000, after growing up on the Lower Mainland, said an RCMP press release March 7. Her posts have included a variety of roles on Vancouver Island – including as a major crime investigator – as well as in the Nisga’a Nation at New Aiyansh, B.C. and in Baker Lake, Nunavut. Prunty was previously detachment commander of Gabriola Island and Alert Bay.
“After several successive moves I am putting down roots in the community and am happy to make the Coast my home,” Prunty said in the release. “Building connection between police and our communities is a priority for me. Initiatives such as Tea with a Mountie are just one way we can create dialogue at a grass roots level and ensure we are meeting the needs of all of our community members.”
“Staff Sergeant Prunty has provided solid leadership in previous roles at multiple detachments and brings an extensive policing background to this new role,” said Lower Mainland District commander assistant commissioner Maureen Levy in the press release. “Her knowledge of the community and the needs of the people of Sunshine Coast will make this an easy transition – we look forward to the leadership she will provide to the detachment and to the people of the Sunshine Coast.”
With files from Sophie Woodrooffe
