News release

Behind the Badge- meet Inspector Donovan Tait

February 10, 2026 - Nanaimo, British Columbia
From: Nanaimo RCMP

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Behind the Badge spotlight features a familiar face returning to the Nanaimo RCMP—an officer whose diverse career has spanned continents, drug & organized crime units, and more than three decades of service.

Meet Inspector Donovan Tait

• With over 31 years of RCMP service and 10 postings across Canada and abroad, Insp. Tait brings extensive experience back to the community he knows well as the first black Commissioned Officer for the RCMP on Vancouver Island. While in Nanaimo he headed the Street Crimes Unit from 2013 to 2018, where he helped guide proactive policing initiatives including Nanaimo’s response to the fentanyl opioid crisis.
• After his time in Nanaimo, he was the commander of federal drug & organized crime enforcement for Vancouver Island before accepting a diplomatic posting in Turkey, representing Canada and the RCMP in the Middle East.
• Insp. Tait completed graduate studies in Leadership at Royal Roads University before representing Jamaica in an IIHF tournament winning a gold medal in 2019. 
• Today, Donovan returns as the Operations Officer, responsible for uniform and frontline policing- overseeing the teams who respond to calls for service, support community safety, and engage daily with residents across Nanaimo.
• Originally from Jamaica, he immigrated to Vancouver Island as a child and grew up in Port Alberni, where the Island became home in every sense.
• Away from the detachment, he’s a proud husband and father of three. Days off are usually spent shuttling kids between ice rinks and soccer pitches, embracing the full Canadian parenting experience.

We’re proud to welcome Insp. Tait back to Nanaimo and we are grateful for the leadership he brings to our community. If you see him around the detachment or out in the community, be sure to say hello!

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