Inspiring change: A female leader in law enforcement

Coquitlam

2024-08-23 08:22 PDT

To celebrate 50 years of women serving as Regular Members in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Coquitlam RCMP will be sharing stories from some of the women working within our local communities.

See our previous media releases:

• January 26, 2024
• March 8, 2024
• May 9, 2024

On July 16, 2024, Coquitlam RCMP welcomed the newest member of our Senior Leadership Team and Coquitlam’s currently highest-ranking female officer: Inspector Veronica Fox. Inspector Fox comes to our detachment from E Division Headquarters, following over three years of service as the Executive Officer to the Commanding Officer, Deputy Commissioner Dwayne McDonald.

View larger image - Inspector Veronica Fox posing with a Musical Ride Horse

Inspector Fox brings over 18 years of experience in policing with the RCMP. She has spent her entire service in the Lower Mainland, getting her start at Richmond Detachment before moving to E Division Headquarters where she held multiple positions in units such as Behavioural Sciences, Information Management and Technology, and the Lower Mainland District Office.

Born and raised in the Lower Mainland, Inspector Fox comes from a small, community service-oriented family. Her mother, born in Montreal, was a Registered Nurse, and her father, born in Regina, was a BC Corrections Officer. Growing up, Inspector Fox was very close to her older brother, Joshua, who lived with developmental disabilities caused by birth trauma; In a round-about way, his journey through life inspired her RCMP career.

One of my brother’s support workers was married to an RCMP officer, and I remember thinking that he was so cool, explained Inspector Fox. I remember seeing him forming up for parade in his Red Serge during one Remembrance Day when I was out with my Girl Guide troop for the ceremony. I waved, and he snuck a wink my way to let me know he’d seen me.

As time passed, that member took a transfer to another community, and the families lost touch. But several years later, when Inspector Fox arrived at Depot for RCMP Training, on a whim, she looked him up in the RCMP email address book.

In a twist of fate, I found that the family had moved to Regina and that he was actually working at Depot at the time, which was a nice surprise, said Inspector Fox. I let him know I’d found my way to the RCMP, which was something that had never been on the radar when their family had known me as a youth.

The entire Fox family attended Inspector Fox’s graduation and it was very emotional for her to have her brother at her ceremony, and also to see him reunited with his prior support worker there. Those were some very special moments that I will cherish forever, said Inspector Fox.

View larger image - Inspector Veronica Fox and her brother Josh at her RCMP Depot Graduation

Inspector Fox says she has had many positive experiences in the RCMP that have contributed to her leadership journey, but she admits that serving as a role model for others is not always easy.

You can’t have a ‘bad day’ in uniform, she said, because you are always under the microscope. As she continued, Often times, by virtue of how few of us there are, women police officers, in particular, don’t get to be as faceless nor nameless as some male counterparts.

As a member of the Black community, Inspector Fox says she experiences this even more so. Yet she has embraced it, striving to bring awareness to the importance of diversity whenever she can

View larger image - Inspector Veronica Fox reading Hidden Figures at a Diversity Event

According to the most recently available RCMP statistics (2023) females make up 23.4% of Commissioned Officers in the RCMP, and just 21.6% of the Force overall. Since women joined the RCMP in 1974, as of this year, they have occupied every rank in the RCMP – Constable through Commissioner.

When asked what she feels got her into the 23%, Inspector Fox reminisced, Someone told me when I was younger: ‘Don’t ever turn down an opportunity that comes your way, because you never know where it’s going to lead you.’ She has made a point of saying ‘yes’ to the experiences offered to her throughout her career, even when they have come with a significant amount of extra effort, and she attributes each decision to take on more, partially to her success.

Regarding the very real glass ceiling in many workplaces, Inspector Fox believes that now, more than ever, women can have it all. She also believes that diversity is inherently valuable to the workplace. As she stated, the benefits of having women in leadership roles is the same as the added value brought through diversity in ethnicity, experience, education, ability, and more. Differences add depth to conversations and ideas and they make our organizations stronger.

View a larger image – Inspector Fox in Red Serge and cape on a boat

About Troop 17, the first female Mounties who broke the barrier for women to join the RCMP as Regular Members, Inspector Fox said, We stand on the shoulders of those who came before us. Because of the struggles of our first women Regular Members and those who followed, every subsequent female employee of the RCMP has benefitted from increasing equity.

With almost 19 years in, my goal is to make this organization even better for everyone who comes after me, said Inspector Fox, adding that she is passionate about mentoring the next generation of RCMP Officers.

Inspector Fox believes there are opportunities for women to join the RCMP, but knows that change takes time. She states that more equity can only be achieved if young females and persons of colour truly believe that they will be accepted and supported in their choice to don the Red Serge. If they don’t think it’s on the table, it won’t even be a consideration for them, she stated, stressing that every interaction she has with members of the public is an opportunity to demonstrate the viability and value of the career for her community.

Inspector Fox is deeply proud of her service saying, I know we do amazing work and I’ve had the opportunity to do absolutely amazing things in my Force. I remain so proud to be a Mountie and I’m excited to pass the torch to a new generation of officers. She hopes to inspire other women to join the RCMP and embark on the career she has found so rewarding.

To find a recruiting event near you, visit: Recruiting Events

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Email: coquitlam_media@rcmp-grc.gc.ca

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