Mission – Mission’s RCMP Director, Inspector Ted Lewko,has started a monthly blog, available to the public as well as media.
The Inspector’s Corner
October 2025
Hi, I’m Inspector Ted Lewko, the Officer in Charge for the Mission RCMP detachment, and welcome to the very first edition of The Inspector’s Corner. I regularly provide updates to Mayor and Council and meet with people at various community events, but this is an opportunity for me to connect with everyone, to help you to learn more about how your local detachment is serving the community. Every month, I will provide an update on some aspect of the Mission RCMP, and you’ll have the opportunity to send your comments or questions our way. In this first edition, I would like to just provide an overview of the Mission RCMP in general, so everyone understands who we are and how we help the community.
The Mission RCMP detachment has 61 funded police officer positions, and 32 civilian support staff. The officers you see most often are General Duty officers – the uniformed officers who respond to calls, conduct investigations, and do proactive duties, such as traffic enforcement, foot patrols, and rural patrols. The vast majority of criminal investigations we do are conducted by our frontline General Duty officers.
The detachment also has several specialized uniformed units, including a Youth Liaison Officer, a Community Policing Liaison, a Mental Health Officer, an Indigenous Policing Liaison, and three Traffic Services Officers. These officers all have their own area of expertise, and maintain close relationships with other community providers, as there are many times when an integrated approach results in a more successful outcome than an enforcement-only approach.
There are also two plainclothes units at the Mission detachment: the Serious Crimes Unit takes on investigations that are more complex and time consuming, which require multiple investigators to work on the same investigation at once, and where advanced investigative techniques may be required to gain evidence; the Crime Reduction Unit focusses on prolific offenders or crime sprees, such as when there is a rash of stolen vehicles or break and enters. They also work closely with Community Corrections, identifying offenders that have recently been released and are on curfew or other conditions, and monitoring them to ensure compliance.
Aside from the police officers, we have an amazing group of support staff who do everything behind the scenes, such as taking reports at the front counter, managing exhibits related to various investigations, doing crime analysis, transcribing statements for court, and liaising with Crown Counsel when charges are being recommended. There are also another group of staff who look after the clients in our cell block, helping to ensure they are fed, any medical needs are addressed, calls with lawyers are facilitated, and bail hearings are completed. Our Victim Services team follows-up with people impacted by various crimes, listening to their needs, helping to connect them to other resources, and keeping them up-to-date on the court process.
Our detachment area stretches from the western boundary of 287th Street, all the way out to the eastern boundary in the Harrison Mills area, and from the southern boundary of the Fraser River, to the northern boundary beyond the farthest reaches of Stave Lake. We also provide policing services for the Sumas First Nation on Sumas Mountain in Abbotsford. In addition to our regular fleet of marked and unmarked police vehicles, we have police bicycles, quads, a side-by-side, and a boat, to allow us to get to all areas of our detachment boundaries. We even have a helipad at our detachment, so officers can quickly get on board the RCMP helicopter if air support is required.
Last year, we responded to over 15,000 calls for service, and this year is shaping up to be even busier (we recently had one of our busiest weeks ever, where we responded to over 400 calls in a week!). While responding to all those calls can be a challenge, know that we are here for you, and we are constantly assessing and re-evaluating what calls need to be prioritized, and how we can best use the resources we have in order to respond to those calls. If you would like to know more about a specific aspect of the Mission RCMP, send us an email (RCMPMission@rcmp-grc.gc.ca), and we’ll do our best to provide the answers you’re looking for. Until then, be safe, and enjoy these fine fall days in our incredible community!
