West Shore Mounties have a new addition to their uniform thanks to a collaboration with the Songhees Nation Language Department.
Officers’ reflective back patch now reads ‘police’ in both English and the Lekwungen translation, qeq’el?s, pronounced phonetically as kuh-kails.
Work on developing the new patch began in October 2021 when Const. Cole Brewer, with the detachment’s Indigenous Policing Services Unit, reached out to Joseph Seward with the Songhees Nation.
“By wearing these patches, we are recognizing the official languages of Canada and acknowledging the official language of the Songhees and Esquimalt Nations within whose traditional territories we work,” said Brewer in a release.
The new patch is now being rolled out to all members of the detachment.
“While our uniforms are designed to be consistent, we feel this is an important part of informed policing which is in line with our efforts being made towards meaningful reconciliation with our Indigenous communities,” said Superintendent Todd Preston, officer in charge of the West Shore RCMP.
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