The future of policing in BC was a hot topic of conversation at the Union of BC Municipalities convention in the Lower Mainland.
PG City Councillor Garth Frizzell sat in on the Investigating Public Safety Reform presentation by NDP MLA Doug Routley and BC Liberal MLA Dan Davies on Monday.
Frizzell told MyPGNow.com that there continues to be political traction for a provincial police force to be adopted in BC, one of 11 key recommendations to reform the Police Act in our province.
“Seeing both parties united around the messaging on this and seeing there was a lot of nodding of heads around the room, I think there is the encouragement politically for this.”
“They did a quick analysis of this report talking about mental health and addictions, about Indigenous policing, and a wide range of different issues including how the police get governed.”
The RCMP’s contract with the province expires in 2032.
Under the existing deal, the City of Prince George pays 90% of policing costs while Ottawa picks up the remaining 10%.
Frizzell believes such a move to a provincial force would be a pretty radical shift.
“British Columbia has the most RCMP of any jurisdiction. They both took time to point out (Davies and Routley) that the police themselves are fantastic but the system – they are going to make a recommendation to change the system pretty dramatically and one of those was to put in a provincial police force.”
“The devil is in the details and now it’s going to be a big unpacking of seeing it. For municipalities the big issue is making sure people are safe, making sure that our police are trusted, and making sure that there is accountability locally. We’ve got great resources through the RCMP in Prince George but, our guiding star is what’s best for the citizens of Prince George and what’s going to make us better in the coming years.”
“The jury is out but it’s on the table now and the time is now to dig deep,” added Frizzell.
In May, PG RCMP Superintendent Shaun Wright stated a provincial police force would cost the city an additional three million dollars per year.
Currently, 13 municipalities in our province have local police forces.
The National Police Federation also weighed on the topic this spring stating the job scope of a police officer has changed dramatically in the last few years.
Today (Tuesday) at the convention, PG Mayor Lyn Hall has a trio of meetings lined up with Minister of Education and Childcare Jennifer Whiteside, Minister Responsible for Housing Murray Rankin, and Minister of State for childcare Katrina Chen.
The UBCM wraps up on Friday.
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