The power of community: An examination of the Selkirk First Nation community safety officer program

This article is related directly to the Seventh International Conference on Law Enforcement & Public Health (LEPH) held in Ottawa, Canada in July 2025.

Abstract

Selkirk First Nation (SFN), a Northern Tutchone First Nation located in Pelly Crossing, Yukon Territory, demonstrated the power of community within policing when SFN established one of the Yukon’s first community safety officer (CSO) programs. SFN leadership chose to establish a CSO program to better respond to the needs of SFN citizens and fill operational gaps of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). This article will provide a brief overview of policing in the Yukon, along with unique issues related to crime that factored into the creation of the SFN CSO program. Key takeaways will also be examined from the author’s PhD dissertation research project focused on the strengths, tensions, and challenges of the SFN CSO program. Findings of the project will also be examined, including the impacts of the SFN CSO program on SFN citizens’ perceptions of safety, the work of Pelly Crossing RCMP, along with larger topics such as reconciliation, self-determination, self-governance, and offering feedback for improving the work of the RCMP in northern Indigenous nations and communities in the northern territories. Lastly, this article will highlight key takeaways for other northern Indigenous nations and communities across the Far North seeking alternatives to an RCMP-centric policing model.