After 40 years of serving Cochrane and the surrounding area, the Cochrane old RCMP detachment will close its doors today.

Local Mounties are moving into the new $23M Protective Services building in Heartland, which will officially open for duty on Monday, June 19.  

Retired Cpl. Ric Henderson started in Cochrane with the RCMP on April 1, 1983, at the building which was located at the corner of 1st St. and Centre Ave.

He said it wasn't long after that the new detachment at 359 1st Street East opened up, which was considered quite the upgrade.

"When we moved into the current detachment we had a locker room, which we didn't have in the old building previous to that. We had a bigger coffee room where we could sit and talk after those calls. We had a few more desks, so we didn't have four people sharing a desk."

He said the population in Cochrane was a lot smaller, approximately 3,500 people, and the building provided sufficient space.

"It was a very close-knit group we had those days. There were about 25 of us, we had three different watches, so we'd work with the same group of people all the time and you'd get pretty close, as RCMP members do with the people they work with. I was in Cochrane for six years, I left in 1989 and went to Taber. I have great memories of being in Cochrane."

The new building in Heartland features space to grow, a state-of-the-art locker room, a gym, more cell blocks, interview rooms, and a contemplation room for members to use when they need a quiet space. 

"The world is changing, policing has changed over the years dramatically, so it's good to see new tools and new options for people as they come along." 

Henderson was stationed in eight different places throughout his RCMP career. He and his wife decided to move back to Cochrane once he retired.

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