Yellowknife (Jan 17/07) - The former head of the RCMP in the NWT has traded in his stetson for a miner's headlamp.

The former chief superintendent of G Division, Pat McCloskey, has left the RCMP after 33 years of service to be the director of Canadian Security Operations for Diavik Diamond Mines.

Former Chief Superintendent Pat McCloskey has left the RCMP to become the new director of Canadian Security Operations for Diavik. - Christine Grimard/NNSL photo

Though his policing career took McCloskey across Canada, he finished his career in the same city he started out in.

When he joined the RCMP in 1974, he, along with four other new officers, was posted to the NWT.

Fresh from training, McCloskey headed to, what was to him, the unknown North.

Yellowknife surprised him.

"It was much more cosmopolitan than I thought," said McCloskey. "The whole North was buzzing back in '74."

After four years in the NWT, McCloskey moved on to British Columbia, Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. While in Newfoundland, he began to train as a police dog master.

After taking his family across Canada, McCloskey came back to Yellowknife in 2002 as G Division's criminal operations officer, second in charge of the NWT RCMP.

"I started my career in Yellowknife," he said. "To come back as second in charge seemed like an interesting development."

Supt. Rick Roy replaced McCloskey as criminal operations officer when McCloskey was promoted to commanding officer in 2005.

"His reputation across the RCMP was widely known," said Roy.

"In caring about people, people are motivated to work with him, and that's an integral part of quality policing."

Roy said that even though McCloskey has left the RCMP, he still considers him an integral partner in the North's security.

The RCMP will announce McCloskey's replacement after an interview process that will happen Feb. 8.