Pipe issue means ‘major repairs’ at YK’s RCMP detachment

Yellowknife’s police headquarters is drastically reducing its opening hours for administrative enquiries as “major repairs” to the building are needed.

In a news release on Wednesday, police said fingerprinting and criminal records check services have been cancelled for the week. On Thursday and Friday, the front counter will be open from 10am until 2pm only.

RCMP said the reduction in service was “due to a structural integrity issue with the main water pipe system in the Henry Larsen Building,” which is the name police give the detachment building. (Henry Larsen was an Arctic explorer who later joined the RCMP, becoming its most senior officer in the North.)

Police said “major repairs will be taking place in the building” this week.

Those repairs would not affect operational police work beyond the reduction in administrative services, said RCMP in a statement.

“Our Yellowknife detachment front-line policing and investigative services and our operational communications centre continue to be operational and there will be no change to service levels due to the building repairs,” the statement read.

Staff Sergeant Yannick Hamel, the detachment’s operations manager, added in the statement: “We have contingency plans in place, and it will be business as usual.”