Episode 7: RCMP Superintendent Jim Elliott

Superintendent Jim Elliott is the Officer in Charge of the BC RCMP Critical Incident Program.

Jim grew up in Saskatchewan, in a Mountie family, but it was an Emergency Response Team demonstration at the Saskatchewan International Tattoo & Festival that set the hook for his ERT aspirations.

Jim made it through selection as a relatively young officer, working first for the part-time ERT in Saskatchewan before moving over to E Division as a full-time member of the lower mainland ERT shortly before the 2010 Olympics.

In his current role Superintendent Elliott now oversees and deploys not only his former team, but also various other CIP assets including crisis negotiators, explosive disposal, police service dogs, underwater recovery (divers), and tactical marine, to name only a few. This is specialized and technical work. Jim insists that more often than not operators are performing tasks that they have drilled and rehearsed, making their operations rather clinical and procedural, and considerably less exciting than the dramatic affairs depicted on television.

If you are a serving member and curious about your options within the force, or you're an outsider looking for a peek behind the operational curtain, this is the episode for you.

Under Reserve thanks Superintendent Elliott for his time, and his service.