The Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Newfoundland and Labrador announced the appointment Wednesday of Chief Superintendent Garrett Woolsey as the officer in charge of criminal operations for the Provincial Police Service.
The Officer in Charge of Criminal Operations for the Provincial Police Service directly reports to the commanding officer.
Woolsey’s appointment became effective on April 10. He replaces Chief Superintendent Stephanie Sachsse, who has been transferred to Alberta.
“Chief Superintendent Woolsey will guide policing operations which impact the safety and security of communities policed by the RCMP. He brings an impressive record of credentials, including community engagement skills, which will support the RCMP and communities as we continue to work together across our province,” Assistant Commissioner Peter Clark, commanding officer of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Newfoundland and Labrador said in a news release Wednesday.
“As the Officer in Charge of Criminal Operations for the Provincial Police Service, he holds a pivotal leadership position,” Clark added.
Woolsey comes to this province following stints in British Columbia and Alberta serving in a host of capacities including a special interest in areas of youth addictions and mental health, serving on the board of directors of a number of non-profit youth addiction and housing agencies.
During his time in Alberta, who was in charge of major crimes investigations working closely with communities and partner agencies in the areas of organized crime, economic crime and district policing operations.
In 2016, Woolsey became superintendent as the Assistant District Commander of the 37 detachments in Southern Alberta. In this role he led the development and implementation of crime reduction strategies, established a crime reduction team and promoted enhanced rural crime watch programs in the district.
A public order and critical incident specialist, he has received advanced training at the Justice Institute of B.C., Canadian Police College and in the United Kingdom. In addition, he has commanded RCMP operations in several high profile incidents, including the mass protests at G-20 in Toronto, the 2008 Southern Alberta floods and the Slave Lake and Fort McMurray wildfires.
Woolsey led the development of the major case management team commander qualification program in Alberta, and holds team commander accreditation in that province as well as British Columbia. He is currently a director with the Association of Canadian Critical Incident Commanders.
Woolsey spent a portion of his youth in Newfoundland and Labrador, as his father worked in the oil industry and supervised some of the earliest offshore drilling operations off the Grand Banks in 1973-74.
