Royal Canadian Mounted Police

From infantry to cybercrime: Inspector Lina Dabit continues to defy expectations

By Patricia Vasylchuk

Careers

Dabit speaking at one of the many forums at which she's been asked to share her knowledge and experience on policing and leadership.
Image by Lina Dabit

October 3, 2024

Content

Trigger warning: death

Anyone who knows Inspector Lina Dabit knows that if you want her to do something, tell her that she can't. That dogged tenacity is what led her to embark on a 30-year career with the RCMP, after a male cousin told her that she "couldn't possibly be a police officer because [she] was short-and a girl."

"Thirty years ago, a Mountie was a six-foot male with dark hair and a mustache," says Dabit. "The fact that I could actually do it was really important to me." She graduated Depot-the RCMP training academy-in 1995.

In 2000, Dabit continued to challenge expectations when she asked to be deployed to British Columbia's Galiano Island, where she would be the sole officer. The small island, located between Vancouver and Vancouver Island, was historically policed by officers with at least eight years of service.

"They said you have to do things completely on your own and think outside of the box because backup isn't around the corner—so, I was in," says Dabit

Dabit, who is also a wife and mom to two kids, now leads the Toronto-based Cybercrime Investigative Team in the RCMP's Federal Policing and Criminal Operations branch. Before stepping into the world of cyber, she worked in a plethora of units over the course of her career including intelligence, national security, organized crime, and protective operations.

Fighting perceptions

Before donning the Red Serge, Dabit did a two-year stint with the Canadian Armed Forces.

"The recruiter asked me, 'What role did you want to do?' and I said 'Well, what's hard?' And they said infantry. So, I said 'Ok, I'll go in the infantry.' And I did," says Dabit.

She admits the experience was worthwhile but not without difficulties, especially being a woman in a traditionally male-dominated work environment.

"I was a solider - in my home unit I was the only woman who was not in an administrative capacity or a medic -and that didn't always go well with people," says Dabit. "I had to learn very early on that in order to be taken seriously and have credibility, I had to do twice as much to get half the respect."

Working in a satellite RCMP detachment on Galiano Island also posed similar challenges.

"I remember once this older man with a beautiful boat was at the dock and came over and asked me how many police officers were on the island. And when I said it was just me he put his hands on his hips and said, 'You're telling me they put a little girl on this island by yourself?' And I thought, 'Oh, you have no idea - I can handle myself.'"

Thinking outside the box

For two and a half years Dabit used her knack for thinking quickly on her feet to fight crime and help keep people safe on the Island.

"How do I do traffic and speed if I'm the only one there? I used speed cameras," says Dabit, who also distributed a written monthly update to the community to keep residents informed of the latest crime trends in the area, and offered tips on safety and crime prevention. She also organized a triathlon fundraiser to help raise money to build a community sports centre.

"Living and working in a small community you become so ingrained with the people and trying to make it better for them," says Dabit, adding that having an unavoidable personal relationship with residents was both a blessing and a curse.

"I remember being the sole police officer at the scene of a pedestrian-vehicle accident holding this woman- a woman I knew -in my arms as she died," recalls Dabit. Toward the end my time on the Island, whenever my pager would go off, I would think to myself, 'Please don't let it be someone I know.'"

After she left the Island, a male colleague told Dabit that when he found out she was being posted to Galiano he didn't think she would last.

"Because it's a lot. It is," admits Dabit. "But, I did."

Destroying the "old boys club"

While Dabit has had to overcome prejudice and sexism throughout her career, she says it's helped her become a better leader.

"Some of the best lessons have been when I've looked at someone else's leadership and thought, 'I will never do that to someone else,'" she says. Now, leading her own team, Dabit aims to instill the idea that good leadership comes with the right mindset.

"It's not just men; you could have young people with old-boys-club mentality and it's important to address that," says Dabit. "I tell them, 'What kind of leader did you need at that stage in your career? Be that leader.'"

She says she think the RCMP has made a lot of strides in this area but acknowledges there's still work to be done.

"You can lead with empathy and compassion while still holding people to a high standard; one is not in absence of the other," says Dabit. "If you take care of your people, your people will step up to the plate and do what needs to be done."

Reflecting back on her 30-year career with the RCMP Dabit says "The RCMP is an amazing place to work. I'm proud to be a part of it and I would encourage anyone to apply."

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