Meet Inspector Jan Malinosky
Jan is a strong leader with 24 years of experience in policing. Jan currently leads the Community Services Division, but policing was not her first career choice. She considered becoming a teacher, a nurse, or a lawyer, but it was during a work term at the provincial courthouse in Vancouver that she realized she didn’t like to be indoors every day.
She began her career as an RCMP Officer in West Shore and moved to VicPD because she fell in love with the island and never wanted to be transferred.
Jan currently leads the Community Services Division, but policing was not her first career choice. She considered becoming a teacher, a nurse, or a lawyer, but it was during a work term at the provincial courthouse in Vancouver that she realized she didn’t like to be indoors every day.
Jan talked with police officers and learned that she could still help people while enjoying the variety and outdoors of policing.
She began her career as an RCMP Officer in West Shore and moved to VicPD because she fell in love with the island and never wanted to be transferred.
Jan has noticed changes in policing over the years. When she started, she was often the only female on the shift, and there weren’t a lot of female leaders. She was too busy learning and doing her job to think much about that, however, she later questioned, “Wait a second, why aren’t there more women?”
She adds that women in policing are important; police should reflect the communities they serve and having a balance of women and men, along with a diverse range of backgrounds is crucial.
“I think women have unique abilities, we’re good communicators, we’re really good at de-escalating, these are things that we can bring to the table. While men can possess these skills, women are typically better in these areas and this teamwork is why it’s so important to have women representing our community.”
"It has become unusual to have only one female officer on shift, now you have four, five or six."
Jan observes that policing is making strides in recruiting women, but there are still challenges in elevating them to leadership positions.
“We want the women in our Department to be inspired by strong leadership, and it’s important for our young male officers to also experience the impact of strong female leaders. Embracing diversity in leadership sets a powerful example for everyone.”
Jan’s secret to being a great leader is her commitment to put people first, check in with her team, set meaningful goals and make sure they have the resources they need to thrive in their roles.
She has a blast every day she comes to work and tells future recruits that they will never be bored in policing because there are so many different things to do, and they will be helping people along the way.
“It is a great way to get to know your community and while we do face challenges in policing today, I never get bored.”
Jan has also been featured on WorkBC’s Career Trek, a video series that highlights interesting careers from across B.C. You can watch the video below.
