Steve Rai could have talked about himself when he was introduced this week as the Vancouver Police Department’s new deputy chief.
After all, he’s been on the job for 25 years.
And he’s got quite an extensive resume – patrol officer, assignments in the jail, recruiting, seconded to the Coordinated Law Enforcement Unit, managed the Davie Street community police office, worked 10 years as an emergency response team hostage negotiator, spent six years with the VPD’s critical incident stress management team, a policing district supervisor, an inspector in human resources…it goes on.
But when it came Rai’s turn to speak at the microphone, he turned his thoughts to his father, Gurdal, who moved the family from India in the late 1960s to Vancouver. Rai, whose Punjabi skills have complemented his work and developed connections in the South Asian community, was born in Punjab, India but raised in the city.
“I just grew up down the street from here,” said Rai at a news conference Tuesday at the Cambie Street precinct, where Chief Adam Palmer announced the Kitsilano Secondary graduate has joined deputy chiefs Doug LePard and Warren Lemcke on the department’s executive.
When the family arrived from India, Rai’s father took on a series of jobs, including working in lumber mills up country, before he was hired as a building service worker at the VPD, where he worked in the jail.
“And he’d come home and tell stories about police officers and how neat and how respected they were and how much he loved working around them,” recalled Rai, noting some of those officers continue to work at the department. “I’m proud for my father because he was another unsung hero. As an immigrant, he encouraged his kids to stay on the right path. And 25 years later, I’m standing here.”
His father’s influence also extended to Rai’s brother, Roger, who is an officer assigned to the Downtown Eastside. Rai also credited the influence of school liaison officers for his career choice, which has gone beyond his first thoughts of the job.
“I just wanted to come out and catch criminals and put them in jail and have fun and do all the exciting stuff that you think about as a young person applying for a career in policing,” he said. “Never in my mind, did I think 25 years later that I’d be standing here as the deputy chief.”
Palmer said there were four applicants for the vacant deputy chief’s job, which was left open after Palmer was promoted to chief when Jim Chu retired. Palmer said he, LePard and a member of the police board were on the selection committee.
Palmer also used this week’s news conference to also announce that Laurence Rankin was promoted from inspector to superintendent. Rankin’s name may be familiar to those who followed the Stanley Cup riot investigation; Rankin led the department’s investigation team.
The 27-year veteran of the VPD is also known locally and nationally for his work with polygraph examinations, both as someone who conducts polygraphs and trains officers on how to do them. Most recently, he was the inspector in charge of the department’s major crime section.
And in case some of you are wondering when a woman will be promoted to deputy chief, I was wondering the same thing. The last time I checked, the VPD had seven female inspectors and one superintendent, with more than 300 female officers working in the city. The VPD has never had a female chief, although Carolyn Daley came close when she retired about a decade ago as deputy chief.
So I asked Palmer whether there will come a day during his tenure when a woman will be promoted to deputy chief. His response: “It’s quite possible.”
@Howellings
