Future is bright for policing

Mar 13, 2023 | 9:11 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – The Superintendent of the RCMP made a presentation to Council with a break down of the stats for last year and what’s on the horizon for this year.

One of the more significant numbers is the reduction in the number of file count, which Superintendent Shaun Wright noted could be due to either a drop in crime and/or fewer people reporting crime.

The number of charges forwarded to Crown has also dropped slightly, which Supt Wright says is largely due to police apathy and policy changes that mean Crown Counsel do not charge for minor offences, such as breach of probation.

Some good news moving forward is the opening of a sobering centre, albeit behind schedule.

Supt Wright had nothing but praise for a new program called Health IM, which is a special program that gives officers better language to help with assessing and assisting individuals suffering from an acute mental health crisis.

The Prince George detachment is also working with “E” Division on a project to help with officers who may have some mental health issues on their own.

The RCMP has been working with the fire department and BC Ambulance to reduce the number of calls the police respond to, as was noted as problematic in the strategic resource analysis presented to Council last December. And those meeting have met with success.