30 November 2010

New CP Police Officer
Starts Work in Golden

Golden British Columbia - The new CP Police Officer for the Golden area, Mark Tataryn, will be both enforcing the law on CP property and trying to raise awareness around trains and public safety. Tataryn, who started work at the end of September with a month of training in Calgary, was hired as one of three CP police officers in the BC Interior as a strategic initiative to increase public safety.
 
Tataryn spent 6 years with the Saskatoon Police Service, four years in Golden where he worked as a custom homebuilder for Horizon Unlimited, and was most recently working in Prince George for the Conservation Officer Service. He moved to Golden for this position with his wife and two children because he liked the diversity in the job and has personal connections in the area.
 
His job for CP now involves both administrative and enforcement work. The CP Police Mandate is about providing law enforcement, protecting assets, and ensuring public safety. Tataryn will try to follow this mandate as closely as possible. Law enforcement includes dealing with issues like fraud and break and enters while protecting assets means attending derailments and conducting enforcement at derailments, amongst a list of other duties.
 
Tataryn knows a lot of people don't know what a CP Police Officer is, what level of authority they hold, and what they do.
 
He emphasized that CP Police are a federal enforcement body and have similar duties to the RCMP, just with a focus on the railways.
 
"It's all about public safety. It's important for people to remember that the rail system is not scheduled and even though trains are as big as they are, it shouldn't be assumed that you can hear them coming," said Tataryn, explaining that because both the trains and tracks are made out of steel it can actually be a very quiet process.
 
CP Police have a close relationship with other police agencies and often work on joint projects when it comes to traffic initiatives, conservation, Commercial Vehicle Safety, and Enforcement programs.
 
Anyone found on CP property may be charged with trespassing under the Railway Safety Act. The minimum trespassing charge is $115, but people can be charged more or even be sent to court depending on the severity of the crime.
 
As for the routes on CP property that are used heavily by locals, like the middle walkway on the bridge that connects to Kicking Horse Drive on the way to the ski hill, both Tataryn and Larry Parsons, the CP Police Officer in charge of the Golden area before Tataryn was hired, know it's a problem.
 
"We realize people do cross the tracks there," said Parsons. "But when it is posted people can expect to be charged."
 
Parson, who has been a CP Police Officer for five years, says the biggest message his force is trying to get out is one of public safety.
 
"We want parents to teach their kids to stay away from the tracks and make sure they know the railway is private property," said Parson. "It's also about people making good decisions at the railway crossings and realizing that when you're in a car, everyone is at the mercy of the driver."
 
Tataryn is setting up his office now in the CP administration building in downtown Golden.
 
Nadine Sander-Green.