Mitch MacMillan is new commanding officer for District 7

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There’s a new marshal in town at District 7 RCMP headquarters in Woodstock. But Staff-Sgt. Mitch MacMillan isn’t the swaggering, gun-toting lawman of yore. He is a polished professional ready to serve the people of Carleton County as its latest district commander.

MacMillan sat down with the Bugle-Observer recently to talk about his return to District 7, his work and his future plans.

“It’s good to be back ... it feels like home,” said MacMillan.

A Carleton County boy made good, MacMillan was born in Woodstock and grew up in Arthurette.

He joined the RCMP in 1981 with his first postings being in Ladysmith and Sooke, B.C. By 1985, he and his wife wanted to come back to the east. MacMillan left the RCMP for a stint with the Woodstock Police Force under then-chief Joe Murphy.

When the chance came to rejoin the RCMP and stay in N.B., Mac- Millan took the opportunity. He was posted to Campobello Island as a one-man detachment operation in December 1988.

“I had a lot of fun, and we had a little boy at the time,” he said.

Later on in the island posting came twin girls, rounding out his family.

Between 1991 and 2007, MacMillan bounced around the Customs and Excise section in and out of uniform, all the while working his way up the ranks.

A highlight of that time was being promoted to sergeant in 1998 as Operations NCO (non-commissioned officer) in District 7. MacMillan was a good fit for the job, being from the area, he knew the people.

With post 9-11 border concerns, however, MacMillan’s expertise was required for the new Customs and Excise Integrated Border Enforcement Team (IBET) in 2003. He was promoted to his present rank of Staff Sergeant and back in plain clothes for the position. It would turn out to be a four-year hitch.

After a reorganization of operations in July 2007, he became the Unit Commander of Customs South for Fredericton, Saint John and Woodstock.

When word came Sput McCarthy was cashing out as head of District 7, MacMillan was slotted for the job.

“It’s like coming full circle,” said MacMillan.

But he has no plans to start coasting into retirement.

“I’m going to shut up and listen for the first while,” he said. “I have a lot to learn with District policing, there’s been a huge evolution. Sput did a tremendous job, the District runs itself.”

But he has his own ideas as well.

MacMillan wants to build on the current philosophy of client satisfaction by providing quality client services that will bring satisfaction to the community.

By treating the communities in the region individually, the range of services under the RCMP umbrella can be tailored to fit the needs of each.

“The organization is going to focus on the expectations of people on us,” he said.

Once the needs are known, the required tool in the RCMP crimefighting tool kit can be brought to bear on the situation.

“It has to be focused, a scattershot approach won’t work,” he said.

The new General Investigation Section (GIS) for District 7 is integral to the focused approach.

Profiled in a recent Bugle-Observer article, GIS is a rapid reaction force where members are specifically deployed to work on serious crimes in a community instead of pulling manpower from regular front-line duties.

MacMillan said a civilian member working as a criminal analyst is now in service in Woodstock.

“This individual identifies links between individuals and crime,” he said.

The information is shared with GIS and filtered down to regular members for a full-court press on getting the perpetrators.

Along with targeting community crimes, District 7 also has to keep in mind the challenges that come with being in a border area, said MacMillan.

IBET is located in Woodstock. It works on maintaining relationships with its U.S. counterparts at ports of entry to discourage crime from crossing into Canada.

Sgt. Dennis Daley is the IBET liaison with the U.S. authorities.

“He deals with everything from illegal firearms bound for Montreal and Toronto, to illegal fertilizers being bought in the U.S. and resold here,” said MacMillan.

Illegal immigration is also a problem in border areas.

“We have 500 kilometres of isolated border with the U.S. I-95 and TCH (Trans Canada Highway) within a radius of 10 kilometres of each other. This can allow immigrants to move in and out,” he added.

In the post 9-11 world, immigrants moving across borders have become a focal point in the terrorism debate.

MacMillan said border integrity of District 7 is a concern. But terrorist activity isn’t the only consideration.

“When a breach occurs, nothing is ruled out in an investigation,” he said. “Officers go through a checklist of possibilities in order to come to the right conclusion. There are many reasons people are moving around.”

Switching gears, MacMillan also discussed upcoming plans for local detachments in the county. Florenceville and Nackawic will soon have a client services desk open from 9 to 5, five days a week.

The service is returning after being eliminated some time ago.

Although there are no plans to put a service desk in Hartland, he is open to the idea when future resources become available.

“I am open to new ideas and partnerships to perhaps make that a possibility,” said MacMillan.

While in his tenure as District Commander, MacMillan wants to be the best leader he can for the District and help people working with him to be better.

“Seeing them achieve is a reward in itself,” he said.