Richmond RCMP Chief Supt. Dave Chauhan recently rode along with a frontline officer, and he recalled the events of the day to the Richmond News, noting the social issues visible to police as they patrol their beats.
Taking time to patrol with frontline officers, despite being the officer-in-charge of the Richmond detachment, allows him to see first-hand the social issues, including unhoused people, substance use-related issues that Richmond RCMP officers deal with on a day-to-day basis.
“I’m of the belief that I can’t lead from behind the desk,” Chauhan said.
During his recent rounds, a call came in for an “unwanted person” loitering in front of an apartment building. When Chauhan and Const. Adam Luro arrived, they could see a shopping cart and a pull cart full of someone’s possessions.
At first, Chauhan didn’t see anyone, but then he noticed a woman slumped over by her possessions.
When the 41-year-old woman told them her mother lived in the building, the officers encouraged her to call her.
Chauhan said, even from a few feet away, she could hear the mother on the other end of the phone.
“I could sense that anguish and concern – and anger because there was not much she could do,” Chauhan said.
He ended up speaking to the mother and convinced her to come outside. In the end, she came bringing along a young boy who was the unhoused women’s son.
The encounter was “heart-breaking” with a confluence of social, drug and homelessness issues, Chauhan explained.
Much of what police deal with is people “down on their luck,” Chauhan said, and while there are systems in place to help, there's always more that can be done.
The patrol included a visit to Brighouse Park where there have been numerous tents over the past couple years.
“You feel for them and you try to look at the lifestyle they’re living and the difficulties they’re enduring,” Chauhan said.
According to Richmond RCMP statistics from January, there was a nine-per-cent increase in mental-health related incidents compared to December, totalling 257 incidents.
This resulted in 51 police apprehensions in January, according to RCMP, with an average hospital wait time of 110 minutes.
Police note one caller generated 35 incidents in the month of January, and 21 people made two or more calls.
But city bylaws notes their interactions with unhoused people has gone down. In 2024, there were 110 calls related to homelessness, whereas in 2023, there were 129 calls.
In February, 255 mental health-related incidents came into the Richmond RCMP. This was down just one per cent from January. Compared to February 2024, mental-health-related incidents were up in February 2025 by 14 per cent.
As the first responders to many calls that are social issues, Chauhan wonders what more police can do.
In some cases, Chauhan said, it would be great if the call went directly to a doctor or social worker.
“Policing alone is not the solution,” Chauhan said.
But Richmond RCMP do the “best that we can do,” he added, and he saw “dedication and compassion” as his officers responded to calls.
“Watching our officers engage with these individuals, I was so impressed,” he said.
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