Darrell Underwood Promoted to Deputy Chief
In this special community spotlight, we celebrate the remarkable journey of Deputy Chief Darrell Underwood, who carries the traditional name ŚELIME—a proud member of the SȾÁUTW̱ community who has risen through the ranks of the Saanich Police Department. Born and raised in SȾÁUTW̱, Darrell balances the demands of law enforcement leadership with deep-rooted cultural ties and a commitment to serving others. His story—from humble beginnings to a groundbreaking position as an Indigenous Deputy Chief—reflects perseverance, family support, and a passion for community-driven policing. We hope this interview inspires others to recognize their own potential and the power of steadfast dedication to both heritage and public service.
I was born and raised here in SȾÁUTW̱. My parents are Tony Underwood (KELOKELTEN), and Joanne Underwood, and my grandparents are Gus and Mary Underwood. This continues to be my home and where my wife Wendy and I are raising my daughter Rayah (KELOKELTENOT).
I went to high school at Stelly’s. My mom also worked there. One day, in grade 11, she came to me and asked, “What are you doing after school?” I thought she meant that day, so I said, “I’m going to go play some basketball.” She clarified, “no, after you graduate, what you are going to do?” At the time I wasn’t sure. She suggested I attend an event called Police Camp which was coming up. I think she saw it as a potential future career path for me.
I applied and got accepted to take part in the camp. It’s where I met now retire Victoria Police Inspector Tony Parks. Tony opened my eyes to the possibility of pursuing a career in policing while also focusing on high level rugby. I had just recently been named to a Canadian National Rugby Team.
Police Camp is what sparked my interest in this career. A 26-year journey that has led me to this point so far.
Over my 26-year career, I started when I was 21, I served in almost every Division Saanich Police has. My career, like every constable, began in Patrol being dispatched to calls as they came in. I’ve worked in Community Engagement, riding bikes and having a wide array of interactions with our community. I was a plain clothes officers with our Street Crime Unit and the now defunct Regional Crime Unit. I’ve worked on our departments policy and procedures, audits, and project planning as a member of the Professional Standards Division. And I’ve investigated homicides as a member the Vancouver Island Integrated Major Crime Unit.
Along my journey I’ve received several promotions and held many leadership roles within our department: I was an acting sergeant in our Traffic Safety Unit, a sergeant in our Detectives Division in the Major Crime Unit and overseeing what is now our Special Investigations Section, a Staff Sergeant in our Community Engagement Division, and the Inspector in charge of the Community Engagement Division and Staff Development Division.
I’ve truly experienced a wide range of policing.
Law enforcement is a demanding profession, and as you move up in rank you take on more responsibility which puts more demand on your time. It can be a challenge finding balance between work and home life. Juggling my career, while being present for my family has been a significant challenge, but one that’s been achievable thanks to open communication and support of my wife and my daughter.
The type of work that police officers engage in daily also creates challenges. We run towards danger and are often present on peoples’ darkest days. This work takes a toll. Thankfully our department supports our officers in many ways that allows us to focus on our goal, which is to help people.
Everyone in our department plays a role in the success of those in leadership. I honestly believe I am a Deputy Chief today thanks to the partners, supervisors, and various other people I have worked along side here at Saanich. They have all contributed to my growth and my learning of how our department operates. Without everyone’s help, I’m not Deputy Chief today.
I am part of the Chief Constables Office (OCC) with includes the Chief of Police, the Deputy in Charge of Administration and the Deputy in Charge of Operations.
Saanich Police has divisions, and each Deputy over sees three. I am the Deputy Chief of Administration, so I oversee Administration, Professional Standards and Staff Development division. I set the direction for those divisions and offer support and guidance to the officers in charge.
Aside from overseeing my three divisions, I work closely with the Chief and other Deputy offering my experience and input on decisions the Chief will make that impact the department as a whole.
Emotional intelligence. Effective communications skills. I believe in a servant leadership style that is based on being humble attentive and present with staff. You learn more about what’s happening around you if you listen. And through that learning make the necessary changes.
Regarding teamwork, I really resonate with that aspect. Although I am a position of rank, and there needs to be a position of rank to make decisions and help guide the department, there are times when position or rank can be an inhibitor to communication and development. You must be willing to listen and be aware of what’s happening with people and understand that one person doesn’t know all. You’ve got to be willing to take in that information to help guide the decision-making process.
I’ve initiated several programs within the police department. One that I’m that I’m most proud of, about three years ago, when I was in Community Engagement. I started an Indigenous Learning Series with our department where we brought 18 members of our department in with Roger’s Elementary.
We did a group learning session about culture and worked together to make drums. We learned about the community and the significance of where W̱SÁNEĆ (Saanich) is founded on.
We did a three-day, three-part culture and learning series. We brought in elders, had conversations, included Indigenous students from the school, their parents, and elders in the community that also wanted to learn with faculty and teachers.
It brought us all together in the school, allowed students to walk through while we were making drums and learning about different aspects of Indigenous culture. I was happy with that.
We used that as a stepping stone and now we do drum lessons with songs that are open and public with the students. Students come to the department and staff can join. We do drum exercises and lessons with students as well, which is exciting.
The other initiatives that are that were brought forward have a lot to do with staff and recognizing their careers and what they’ve done within the department when they retire, along with the mental health pieces that we talked about earlier, implementing mental wellness check-ins and other programs that are based around mental health.
Saanich Police spend a lot of time on hiring and interviewing the people that we’re bringing into the department. We want to ensure that the staff that we are hiring are emotionally aware, have diverse experiences and knowledge, and are from diverse cultures as well.
When we bring staff into the department, we want to ensure that they are already in line with our commitment to the community because our department is community focused. By building those relationships with diverse community groups, that is how we can overcome issues where the communities have concerns.
If they have any concerns about police, we can step in and ensure that we have an open line of communication, because if we’re not focused on that community, policing aspect, which we are, then that’s where police departments can have difficulty in in dealing with different situations.
I think a lot of times communication is our inhibitor. If community is not speaking with the police and the police aren’t speaking with the community, then we’ve got a break in advancement or helping with creating safer communities.
When police are present, have a conversation. Talk to the member. Learn a little bit about them and their path and what they’re doing, and when police attend events, be open to conversation.
How to get people involved or engaged with the police department and police with community in a positive way is critical.
Having good conversations being present and recognizing that opportunities are open, like coffee with a cop, that’s a great opportunity to sit down and have a conversation with somebody.
I’ve seen the RCMPs members at our events. That’s significant, because I’ve seen them present and being aware of what’s happening in the community. That’s probably not happening in all municipalities across the country and being aware that there’s a commitment to our people is pretty amazing. I hazard to guess it’s not happening in all nations across the country.
Although I wear this uniform, police wear this uniform, there’s a person inside that uniform that is the person that’s serving you. This uniform that I’m wearing is simply a mechanism to providing safety and protection. Having meaningful relationships and being open to conversation is so important.
Helping people when other people are running away. We’re there to help on people’s worst days. Help them in the moment and help them move forward with their lives so that hopefully they aren’t stuck in their worst day for long periods of time.
I think when I mentioned earlier about wearing this uniform. There’s a misconception or possible misconception, that there isn’t a person inside of this uniform, that we’re just doing what we have to do because of law and process.
And I think that’s not always understood that when members attend the scene or attend a call, they’re listening to what’s going on and considering everything that’s happened.
When I wear this uniform, sometimes we get painted with a brush regarding a decision that somebody else has made, and that’s unfortunate because not all of us are the same.
When we hire individuals, one of those questions that often gets discussed is, “would we want that person in my mom’s house talking with them about something that happened?”
That’s the type of individuals that we’re bringing into the Saanich Police Department. And then when you look us as police officers, there is a protective piece for doing a job, but inside of this (uniform) is an individual that cares about people and people we serve.
The advice that I would give that for people that are interested in the career is “be you.”
Don’t change. I’ve had these conversations with people recently, saying the Saanich Police Department hired Darrell Underwood because of Darrell Underwood. Because of the way that I interact with people and the way that I communicate.
I’ll go through my whole career, and I’ll have bumps and bruises and things will happen, but at the end of my career, when I retire, I won’t be leaving as Deputy Chief Underwood. I’ll be leaving as Darrell Underwood and I’ll be going back to my family back home, to the house that I live in, and if I change and altar who I am as an individual simply because I want to achieve something, or to impress somebody, or to get to a rank, then I’m going to start to fall off path to who I am as an individual.
The best advice I can give to young people they are considering a career is “be aware of the decisions you’re making. You need to be able to stand behind for your rest of your life.
When you’re with people and they’re trying to lead you off a path, recognizing that that decision you need to be able to stand behind that decision, as you grow older. That decision could come up later, when you’re applying for any job in any position within the within communities.
When you’re thinking about a career in law enforcement, it’s a teamwork-driven career, and if you, enjoy working with a team, you enjoy challenges, you enjoy diverse opportunities, then this is probably a great opportunity for you to get all of that in one profession.
I’ve basically worked 12 different careers in one career. There’s not a lot of places in in the world where you can work 12 different careers but still be in one department.
No individual in policing can be successful without support. Having Chief Pelkey at my promotion ceremony to recognize where I’ve gotten to in my career and being the first Indigenous person in Saanich’s history to be promoted to Deputy Chief is significant.
It opens the road for a lot of others to recognize that this is an attainable career and sometimes people don’t realize that this career is attainable until they see somebody else doing the career.
I’ve been asked before, “Well, what’s your community think of you as a police officer?”
Everybody that I talked to, whether in uniform or out of uniform has always treated me like Darrell, and that goes back to my statement when I retire from policing I will still be Darrell, but I’ll have some different experiences that I’ve gone through.
Having family and community support in this career has been meaningful.
Learn from the feedback you receive.
I’m in my twenty sixth year of policing. You get a lot of different pieces of feedback. In terms of either personal or professional, and every piece of that feedback somebody’s giving you is valuable because it allows you an opportunity to reflect.
In each promotional process I’ve been a part of, I’ve gotten feedback on my application process, what I did well, what I could improve on, and all that feedback culminates into growth. All that feedback is what’s gotten me to where I am, because you take it, you absorb it, you digest it, you recognize “what can I actually do with this?” and where can I go with it, and you work your way through.
This promotion is definitely an honor and a privilege, not only to represent our department, but also represent our nation. Growing up here and being part of our community and now representing our community as a as a Deputy Chief means a lot to me.
Thank you for the interest, because a lot of times, people don’t know. I’m not the only person doing amazing things and having an opportunity to share stories of our community successes is important because there’s other people in our community that are doing great things and being able to share those stories so other people can learn, is good.
Young kids are doing great things that are inspirational to adults too. I know that some my cousins are working through different chef programs, massage therapy etc. We have lawyers here, lots of good sports accomplishments with our athletes representing our local or provincial level or some or even at the national level. Allowing them to be recognized would be great.
