SURREY RCMP on Wednesday announced the promotion of Staff-Sgt. Celso DeLemos to the rank of inspector in the position of senior investigator. In this new role, DeLemos will oversee Surrey Detachment’s Property Crime Section and Drug Section.
DeLemos has been with the RCMP for 18 years and has spent the last six years of his service in Surrey, where he has lived with his family since 1997. Like most new recruits, he began his RCMP career on General Duty. He then moved on to the General Investigation Section in Richmond, followed by two years as an investigator with the Federal Enforcement Section of the Border Integrity Unit.
In 2005, Constable DeLemos began to climb the ranks in the RCMP – leading teams in Ridge Meadows as a corporal, followed by a promotion to sergeant in Surrey where he worked as a Senior Patrol NCO (Non-Commissioned Officer) and NCO in charge of the Domestic Violence and Missing Persons Unit.
In 2012, he was promoted to Staff Sergeant in Surrey. Most recently, Staff-Sgt. DeLemos worked as NCO in charge of the Surrey RCMP’s General Investigation Unit, which provides investigative response to every serious crime in Surrey, around the clock.
“I am very pleased to have Inspector Celso DeLemos as the newest commissioned officer in Surrey and to have him leading our large property crime and drug sections,” said Surrey RCMP Officer-in-Charge, Chief Superintendent Bill Fordy. “He brings a wealth of experience in investigative work and is highly respected by the people he works with. Celso is an extremely hard working police officer who consistently demonstrates the highest ethics and standards in our profession, somebody that I am very proud to serve with.”
Originally from the Philippines, DeLemos immigrated to Canada when he was 33 years old to find a better life for himself and his family. Although he had a degree in engineering, his degree was not recognized in Canada and he took on clerical positions in his new country. When his wife started working with the Toronto Police Service, DeLemos also became interested in law enforcement, noting that there weren’t many representatives from his cultural community in policing at the time. Once accepted into the RCMP, DeLemos had to overcome physical, cultural, and financial barriers at the training Depot in Regina. At 39, he was one of the oldest in his troop and, standing at 5’4”, also one of the shortest. However, he overcame all of the challenges and proudly graduated from Depot in March 1997.
“I work with a great group of people who have a genuine desire to make the city a safer place to live – they are truly the reason I have been successful in my career,” said DeLemos. “In my new role, I will continue to emphasize that a positive attitude and respect for one another can help us focus on the work ahead of us: arresting those individuals who disregard other people’s safety and their desire to live in a safe and peaceful community.”
