CBN mayors anxious for more RCMP positions

By Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Olivia Bradbury

The population may be going down in some areas, but crime rates are going up, including incidents of violent crime, an RCMP officer told a recent meeting of the Conception Bay North Joint Council.

Staff Sergeant Philip Christopher of the Harbour Grace RCMP detachment came loaded with statistics to last month’s meeting of the joint council held in Carbonear’s council chamber. Christopher handed out sheets which displayed statistics for the Harbour Grace and Bay Roberts detachments. The numbers included population policed, detachment workloads, crime severity, and other indicators. Christopher noted crime rates in the area have increased over the last five years.

“It’s not a surprise that we’re busy, or busier. We’re kind of running through what resources that we do have,” said Christopher.

RCMP members give a regular update to the joint council. An issue frequently discussed is staffing, as officers struggle to cover a large area and workload.

Two additional RCMP positions were filled in CBN over the summer, said Christopher, and a third position is expected to be added.

That would seem to be on top of any positions which may flow from an announcement by the provincial government earlier this year to fund 25 more positions. While the RCMP is a federal force, the staffing and operating costs of local detachments in Newfoundland and Labrador are paid by the Province.

“The announcement the Province made about the additional positions we were supposed to get, apparently that has not made its way into the system here,” said Christopher. “I’m told it’s happening, but there’s a bunch of administrative processes that I’m not aware of that has to take place before these positions and the funding for these positions can actually happen.”

Christopher said that while having three more officers than last year is a win, the RCMP in CBN still needs more bodies to deal with the workload.

Harbour Grace Mayor Terry Barnes asked Christopher where the extra officers promised by the Province are. Christopher said he had been told that financial meetings have been happening to finalize the funding.

“I don’t know the number that they’re going to put here, but the number that they are putting here has to meet the minimum to be able to have 24-hour policing to do what they said they were going to do,” said Christopher.

Bay Roberts Mayor Geoff Seymour, who chairs the joint council, recalled that in the announcement it was said most of the 25 new officers would be stationed in Conception Bay and Gander.

Seymour looked for clarification from Andrew Walsh, the political liaison of Justice Minister Helen Conway-Ottenheimer, who attended the meeting in her absence.

“I’m sure in your conversations tomorrow you can ask for an update on where that is,” Seymour said to Walsh. “Where it is in the bureaucracy? Is it a question of the money being released? Is it a question of the money’s released and the RCMP is just trying now to recruit?”

Walsh said he would speak to the minister on the subject.