Hope council welcomed the new leader of the Hope RCMP at their regular council meeting, Monday, March 28. Staff Sergeant Suki Manj brings with him a wealth of experience and an appreciation for small communities.
He officially takes over for retiring Staff Sergeant Dale Kjemhus in June.
“Thank you mayor and council, I’m excited to come,” said Manj, who has most recently been in command of the plain-clothes investigation division of the Upper Fraser Valley regional detachment.
That position has given him prior insight into Hope’s community policing office, working behind the scenes with local plain-clothes officers on major cases.
“I am very much community oriented,” added Manj, already taking the time to meet with many community leaders in order to learn about the issues that most concern area residents.
I think the public perception (of policing) is usually the same, and we as managers of the RCMP work to achieve balance between a community’s policing needs, an eager young force “looking for the world,” and the reality of a community’s fiscal restraints.
“I am looking forward to the opportunity to lead such a young group of people,” said Manj. And although Manj has only been on the force for fifteen years, young officers will have the chance to glean a lot from his wealth of policing experience.
After graduating from the RCMP training depot, the now Staff Sergeant was first posted to the Mission Detachment, moving up to the position of general investigator within a few years.
He then moved onto the Integrated National Security Enforcement Team (INSET) shortly after the 911 terrorist attacks in 2001. With INSET, Manj was trained in wire-tap applications, surveillance, the development of information sources, and has worked with CSIS, the FBI and NCIS. He returned to the lower mainland as a supervising corporal with the Surrey detachment, also working with the Surrey serious crime section and as acting senior patrol NCO. He moved onto his position with the Upper Fraser Valley Detachment in 2007.
“With two years of business management certification under his belt (prior to entering the RCMP), council is also confident that he appreciates the financial restraints the district is under,” said Mayor Laurie French. “I am looking forward to working with him.”
Manj resides in Rosedale, with his wife, a Corporal with the Upper Fraser Valley Detachment, and their two children.