Investigations & Security Staff

To provide high-quality service, Desert City is committed to the selection, training and continual improvement of our staff.*

Desert City Investigations & Security Inc. supports its personnel through unobtrusive, yet effective supervision. Our "hands on" management is accessible and provides unmatched accountability. We do not rest on our laurels at Desert City; we constantly pursue excellence.

Our investigative staff has the expertise required to return satisfying results to our clients. We have five Licensed and Bonded Investigators with combined experienced in excess of 80 years in both criminal and civil investigations. Our entire investigation division can boast over 130 years of combined RCMP and provincial police experience to handle whatever criminal activities may arise. At your disposal, is a team of highly experienced investigators whose diligence, resourcefulness and skills help them bring client's cases to extremely satisfying conclusions. Our clients have found they received the answers they sought and have seen many guilty parties face prosecution; and have often enjoyed the recovery of assets they believed were long gone.

Our investigators are second to none. In fact, we have two of the most qualified security professionals in British Columbia, namely Mr. David N. Tyson, our director of operations and Mr. Ronald J. Foyle, our Senior Security Consultant. Our investigation team also includes Mr. Patrick Bodnard.

*All security and investigative personnel licenced by the Attorney Genberal of British Columbia.

Company President

Mr. Patrick Bodnard has seventeen years experience as a Private Investigator. He graduated from the Canadian Academy of Investigations at the top of his class with 100% on his final examination. Mr. Bodnard has conducted hundreds of investigations for large corporations, the legal community and consumer sector as well as all the major insurance companies in Canada and some international. He has received numerous letters of recommendation from all the aforementioned. Mr. Bodnard is the president of Desert City Investigations, Desert City Security, as well as Lormit Process Services Kamloops Branch.

Senior Security and Investigations Consultant

Mr. Ronald J. Foyle is our Senior Security and Investigations Consultant. Mr. Foyle is one of the most qualified and respected Security and Investigations Consultants in Western Canada. Ron has over 40 years of experience in the Police, Investigations and Security Industry. Ron has just recently retired from his position as Head of Security for the Workers' Compensation Board, for which he prepared and administered a 1.4 million dollar budget. Ron has also held the position of Director of Police Services from 1989 through 1991 inclusive, where he prepared and budgeted in excess of three million dollars for all transit and police services of BC Transit.

A few of the positions Mr. Foyle has held are:

Inspector, Coordinated Law Enforcement Unit
Inspector, Bureau of Operations, Patrol Division
Staff Sergeant, Major Crime Section
Detective, Crime Intelligence Unit
Undercover Operator, and
Vice Squad

Mr. Foyle has solved murders and recovered over a million dollars worth of stolen pearls. He also completed Worldwide Investigations of two heroin smuggling organizations. Mr. Foyle was in charge of Policing for Expo '86, and provided Security for the Prince and Princess of Wales, Margaret Thatcher, and George Bush.

Quality Assurance Manager

Mr. Robert Brandt Scheer has been directly involved with security for over 27 years, primarily with the Canadian Armed Forces; in Canada and overseas (Egypt, Golan Heights and Cyprus).

Commenced employment with Desert City in 2006. Appointed Quality Assurance Manager in 2008. Responsibilities include ensuring the client receives the absolute best Security possible and Desert City Security guards continue to set the high standard that Desert City demands in professional uniform deportment and reporting.

Operations Supervisor

Brian N Knipstrom comes to Desert City Investigations & Security Inc. with a 27 year background as a Police Officer and 17 years in the Canadian Military.

During his policing career he was involved in the training and supervision of the Emergency Response Teams. In this endeavor, he was an Incident Commander and Hostage Negotiator in a number of critical operations. Mr. Knipstrom has done many important protection cases during the last 30 years, to add to his already impressive resume.

Brian’s military career included service all across Canada and in Europe with NATO. He retired from the military as a Chief Warrant Officer and the Regimental Sergeant Major of a Reserve Regiment.

He has also worked for the B.C. Film Industry, employed as a Technical Advisor for Police & Military operations and procedures. Mr. Knipstrom holds a current license for Basic Security Training and Private Investigations obtained from the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General.

Brian has previously worked as a management consultant with different security firms, supervising the guards implemented for large crowd control during sporting events and concerts.

Desert City is happy to have recruited Mr. Knipstrom as our Operations Supervisor. Desert City deem that Mr. Knipstrom’s past education and vast knowledge of the Security and Investigation Industry is an asset to any Company or firm requiring professional expertise in the Security or Investigations fields.

Alarm Response Manager

Mr. Manfred Berker has been employed with Desert City Security for two years. Manfred has training in various areas of the security industry including static guard, process server, alarm response and alarm response training. Manfred was promoted to Alarm Response Manager within two months of his employment with Desert City Security. His years of previous management positions coupled with his security experience gives him a strong foundation with which to grow in the security industry. Manfred is responsible for alarm response procedures and protocol for our clients interests to be carried out professionaly and diligently on a daily basis.

Mobile Supervisor

Mr. Darren McArthur has been an employee with DESERT CITY SECURITY INC. for over 2 years. Darren has had extensive training and years of experience in the Security Industry. During his employment with Desert City he has diligently worked his way up the ladder and into a management position within the company. Darren is our Mobile Patrol Supervisor. Darren is to insure all company protocol, procedures and the high standards of Desert City’s Mobile Division are adhered too on a daily basis.

Process Service Specialist

Mr. Joe Basran manages the Kamloops branch of Lormit Process Services, a division of Desert City Security and Investigations Inc. During his three years in this position, Mr. Basran has become noted within the Kamloops legal profession for his professionalism in dealing with both clients and subjects, and for the thoroughness of his affidavits, which help attorneys keep their case files airtight. He is adept in the fields of skip tracing and location. As well as running our process service department, Mr. Basran is currently engaged in further formal education in general investigation.

Investigative Journalism Consultant

Desert City Investigations and Security Inc. may be the only private investigation agency in Canada with its own investigative reporter on call. Major news organizations throughout the world frequently hire private investigators to help research and document investigative reports. Mr. Chambers has almost 30 years of Canadian and international experience in journalism as a reporter, photographer and editor and has produced many investigative stories for the print and broadcast media. Aside from providing Desert City Investigations with the ability to meet the special needs of news organizations, he currently teaches business journalism at the University College of the Cariboo in Kamloops.

Investigator

Mr. Garry L. Bergquist is presently working as an Investigator with Desert City. He is a former member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and he's a certified Breathalyzer analyst and Traffic reconstruction analyst. In the 10 years Garry was with the R.C.M.P. he was stationed in Alberta, Yukon and British Columbia. In this time Garry spent two years working Criminal Investigations in the plain-clothes section in Whitehorse Detachment. As well, Garry spent 6 months as an undercover drug operator in the Yukon.

During his time with the R.C.M.P. Garry was regarded as a top notch investigator and specialized in statement taking and solving many serious crimes. During his tenure Garry was also involved in providing security for various heads of state including Princess Anne and the Governor General of Canada.

Undercover Investigations Specialist

Investigator # 1064 is licensed with the Attorney Generals Security and Investigations Division. This investigator specializes in long-range distance photography, covert insertions, undetected surveillance and skip tracing. Investigator # 1064 has done numerous files for the legal community, ICBC, WCB and the private sector, as well as a number of corporate entities. He is not named here because personal anonymity is an invaluable tool of his trade.