Council will fund two more Mounties

There will be two additional pairs of RCMP boots on the ground this year.

Council approved funding for two more officers, which are expected to arrive in the city by September. This money is part of a three-year ask from the RCMP that would bring seven new officers to Prince George. Council approved funding for three last year, two for this year, and will discuss allocating money for two more during 2018 budget talks.

Councillors debated before arriving at the approval. The 2016 recruits have been backfilled but still haven’t arrived, and some councillors, like Jillian Merrick, want to see a return on last year’s investment before allocating more funding. Mayor Lyn Hall wasn’t completely comfortable for similar reasons to Merrick’s, but ultimately supported funding and cited safety concerns and the city’s recent criminal activity for his decision.

As of last September, there was enough room in the budget for 124 members, however, with officers often training, taking holidays, sick, on stress/paternal/maternal leave, or leaving via promotion, the actual number of officers available ranged between 110-117.

Superintendent Warren Brown made his pitch on Monday. The RCMP can’t hire part-time or occasional officers, so the detachment must prioritise programming and officers must work overtime when short-staffed.

“When you show up and you should have 16 people on the road and we’re only fielding 10, that’s wearing on an individual,” says Brown, “it makes a career difficult when you face that pressure every day and our members and our employees face that pressure here every day.”

He also believes not having an appropriate police-to-population ratio will negatively impact services and both public and officer safety.

Council’s decision will fund 126 officers beginning this September. These two officers will cost approximately $113,273 from September-December this year, and cost $339,818 annually after that.