By Cheryl Jahn

RCMP Resource report moves to Council table

Dec 14, 2022 | 6:10 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – Plenty of recommendations from a pair of consultants who were brought in last year to review RCMP. The recurring theme with the presentation was the need for the City, the RCMP, and many of the different social organizations in the city, such as Northern Health to create a Community Safety and Well-being plan. Right now, there are plenty of services available to address, especially, mental health but they are operating in siloes.

“The right-hand doesn’t know what the left is up to,” Curt Taylor Griffith, from the School of Criminology at Simon Fraser University and a co-author of the review.

It also strongly recommends a return to a stronger community policing model, which is virtually non-existent.

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“Community policing is getting ahead of crime,” explained Griffith. “You can’t arrest your way of this.”

And “this” is Prince George’s crime rate, which is significantly higher than comparable communities. The crime rate is 150 percent higher than in comparable communities, the property crime rate is 160 percent higher, and the violent crime rate is 66 percent higher.

“These rates are out of bounds. People are afraid in the community and they should be.”

But at the root of the issue is the call for service rates that are astronomically higher than other detachments, with a number of those calls having nothing to do with enforcement. But Councillor after Councillor noted the City was taking on more and more resources and costs associated with provincial downloading.

“Northern Health and the Province have a moral responsibility and a legislated responsibility to deal with mental health issues,” noted Councillor Brian Skakun, with Councillor KyLe Sampson asked at what stage could the municipality refuse to do the work of the Province.

In light of the Resource Review, Administration is recommending:

“The attached Police Resource Review includes recommendations to increase the strength of the RCMP Detachment by approximately 30 staff: 19 uniformed RCMP members, and 10 Municipal Employees (MEs), in addition to a number of Data Processors (MEs). Given the City’s budget challenges, Administration and RCMP leadership are building a 5-year staffing plan that flattens the budget enhancement request over a 5-year period, 2023-2027. Each year a budget enhancement request of approximately $1M (2022 dollars) to hire four (4) additional RCMP members and two (2) MEs shall be brought forward to close the identified resource gap. For 2023 (attached), the first budget enhancement request is recommended for Council’s upcoming 2023 budget deliberation, in accordance with the recommended prioritization contained within the consultant report.”

The report breaks down the sworn officers as such: two detachment HELP Unit members, four neighbourhood police officers in 2024, an additional Car 60 team in 2025, a four-person community policing team in 2025, four school resource officers next year and a four-person youth liaison team.

It is also recommending ten additional municipal employees: one additional community policing coordinator in 2026, one more victim services workers in 2025, a transcription person next year, a crime tactical analyst. In 2014, one forensic indemnification specialist next year, a CPIC operator next year and one additional exhibits person in 2026.

It also goes on to recommend initiating the Community Safety and Well-being plan.

The Committee also looked at a budget “enhancement” of two more municipal staff and four additional officers, being the total in Prince George from 143 to 147.

Ultimately, the Committee passed motions to:

• receive the Police Services Report;
• that Council considers the enhancement request; and
• that Council considers initiating a resourced Community Safety and Well-being planning process

The budget will be discussed at Council’s budget meetings in late January.