BORN in India, Chief Superintendent Dave Chauhan recalls that Richmond was the first city he set foot in in Canada, arriving through Vancouver International Airport, 40 years ago.
On May 2, he officially began his new role as the new Officer-in-Charge of Richmond RCMP.
“We are pleased to welcome C/Supt. Chauhan to Richmond. Our Senior Management Team is looking forward to working collaboratively with C/Supt. Chauhan in our continued effort to make Richmond the safest community to live,” says Superintendent Julie Drotar, who had been acting as the Officer-in-Charge of Richmond Detachment during the transition in leadership.
Chauhan’s appointment as Officer-in-Charge was first announced by the City of Richmond on March 9.
“I am honoured and thrilled to have been chosen as the new Officer-in-Charge of Richmond RCMP and am excited to officially begin in my new role,” says Chauhan. “I am looking forward to leading a remarkable team of officers and municipal staff and building on the excellent public safety initiatives and member wellness programs put in place by my predecessor, Assistant Commissioner Will Ng.”
Prior to assuming his role as Officer-in-Charge of Richmond RCMP, Chauhan was the acting Officer-in-Charge of the Lower Mainland Integrated Teams which included the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT), the Integrated Emergency Response Team, the Integrated Forensic Identification Service, the Integrated Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Service, and the Integrated Police Dog Service.
Chauhan has been with the RCMP for 31 years, bringing an extensive and diverse operational and administrative policing experience to Richmond Detachment.
He started his career with the RCMP in 1991 and served 14 years at Prince George Detachment where he worked in several sections including General Duty, Traffic Section, Drug Investigation Unit, Property Crime Unit, Serious Crime Unit and North District Major Crime Unit.
In 2005, he moved with his family to the Lower Mainland to take a posting with BC RCMP’s Major Crime Section where he worked on E
Division Serious Crime Unit, Criminal Investigation Unit and Surrey Detachment Major Crime Section.
In 2017, he was promoted to Inspector in the role of Operations Support Officer on the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) and in 2019 he assumed command of IHIT as the Officer-In-charge in leading a multi-jurisdictional team of investigators, analysts and civilians at the BC RCMP’s headquarters at Green Timbers in Surrey.
In November 2020, he was assigned the role of acting Officer-in-Charge of the Lower Mainland Integrated Teams.
In 2019, in an article titled “IHIT’s new Officer-in-Charge Superintendent Dave Chauhan,” The VOICE said: “The thought of being an RCMP officer didn’t occur to him when he arrived in Canada in 1985 from the village of Malpur in the state of Punjab in India. He spent his first year in Calgary and moved to Ontario where he completed his high school degree. He went on to enroll in a Bachelor of Business Administration Program at Wilfrid Laurier University in Kitchener, Waterloo. It was there he attended a RCMP recruiting event and was drawn to join the RCMP.
“He joined the RCMP on March 31, 1991, and was sent to Regina for six months of training. After completion of his training, he was posted to Prince George Detachment.”
At the time, then-chief minister of the Indian state of Punjab Amarinder Singh congratulated him on his appointment. “A great feat which has made all of us here in Punjab proud. The contributions of Punjabis the world over are indeed exemplary,” he tweeted.
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