Monday, November 6, 2023 marked the 28-years anniversary of Kathy Doss’ career as the Senior Operations Assistant at the STPS Lillooet detachment. Prior to being hired in 1995, she was interviewed by the late STPS Chief Officer Harry McLaughlin and STP Board Coordinator Yvonne LaRochelle. Kathy had applied for the position of Office Clerk with a pay rate of $9 per hour. Although she came in second in the interview process, she was offered the job after the first applicant moved on. Before she was interviewed, Kathy had Just come out of a wellness treatment center. Despite her history of struggling with alcohol addiction, the 6-weeks program changed her life and led her to becoming a recovering alcoholic. Kathy was open and honest with her employers about her situation and about being a single mother of a six-years old child. She promised them that if they gave her a chance that she would do her very best and commit herself to her employment. During her tenure, Kathy remained grateful for that opportunity to work as it fueled her sobriety over the last 28-years.
.In the early years, Kathy played a big role in developing policy and procedures for STPS operations. At some point she was assigned a new role, Civilian Office Administrator. But due to a lack in funding she switched back to her original job in operations. At that time, the Lillooet detachment was at the old administration building in T’it’q’et at 22 Retasket Drive. The STPS office had moved five times with the longest stay starting in 2009 on Main Street in the township of Lillooet, BC. The office has now been in its latest location at 21 Scotchman Road for 2 years.
Kathy has been around since before the organization became a self-administered policing service. Back then, STPS Chief Officer Dee Doss-Cody was a Special Provincial Constable. It was not until 1999 that the STPS constables became full-fledged police officers under the BC Police Act with their own jurisdiction. The equipment in the office was well-worn and had no connection to the RCMP’s CPIC and other operating programs or systems. Information on the more serious files had to be hand-delivered to RCMP on what was called a 2500 form to be added to the CPIC and CIDDS programs. Kathy recalled using radios back in the day and keeping a radio log on all the officers’ activities. In the evenings, she would switch the landline phones to radios. Kathy would often stay late until the office was clear of a serious call. There were no dispatchers until she returned to the office the next day. All emergency calls would go to the radio where the officers would answer emergencies after-hours. Back in the day, everyone owned scanners. So, anyone could hear the activity on the police radio. This deterred people from making or reporting crimes because they did not want to be on the scanner. Even after the radios went digital and after the radio calls got distorted, Kathy would still get asked about the privacy of those reporting or committing crimes. At some point, after-hour dispatchers were assigned in Kamloops and then in Kelowna.
Since the beginning, Kathy had the privilege of witnessing the STPS grow both in number of officers and in its technical savvy. In 1999, the late Chief Officer McLaughlin began the process of applying for the CPIC and PIRS programs. Another big change came when PRIME, an RCMP computer program, was introduced in the office in 2008. This bumped up the level of professionalism as it made the STPS a lot more accountable to the Province, to Canada, and to the courts. Standards had gone up and there was no going back. Staff had no choice but to adhere to policies and procedures.
Looking to the future, Kathy hopes that the STPS can fill the need for higher level investigators and detectives for more serious crimes, thus leaving community policing officers to do the patrolling and day-to-day policing activities. Community officers could take on community outreach and actively recruit members into the service. Kathy also recognizes the need for a Human Resources department to head the major tasks of managing pay and benefits, training and workplace wellness and safety.
In Kathy’s retirement year, Chief Officer Doss-Cody nominated her for two First Nations Chiefs of Police Association (FNCPA) awards. The FNCPA accepted the nomination and presented the two awards on May 16, 2023. Kathy received both the Distinguished Services Awards for Community Services and the Long Service Award for her 28 years of dedication to the STPS. The Community Services Award is for “individuals who have demonstrated self-initiative in the development of Community Crime Prevention Strategies and initiatives for the communities they serve; and who have actively participated and donated their time to a community, and community-based fundraising events.”
Despite having retired in November 2023, Kathy worked under contract until January 2024 in order to train her replacement at the STPS Lillooet detachment. She occasionally does contract work for Secwepemcul’ecw Restoration and Stewardship Society. Her passion is her crafts and beaded jewelry business, ‘Kathy’s Creations’. She attends conventions, conferences and gatherings throughout the year as a vendor.
Kathy Doss is from the northern St’at’imc community of Xaxli’p. Both her parents, the late Antoinette Doss (nee John) and the late Lawrence Doss, were Xaxli’p community members as well. Kathy’s husband is Darwyn John of Tsal’alh. She has 1 daughter, 4 step children and 7 grandchildren.
