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Kamloops  

City adopts RCMP plan looking to add 25 new Kamloops Mounties by 2027

Planning for 25 new officers

City councillors have voted to adopt a Kamloops RCMP business plan looking to add 25 new police officers to the local detachment over the next five years.

At a Tuesday council meeting, Kamloops RCMP Supt. Syd Lecky said he is looking to add more "roadable" officers — members who are not on leave and actively able to patrol, or “boots on the ground” — at a rate of five new officers per year starting in 2023.

Lecky said more active officers are necessary for several reasons, including increasing policing complexity and changing policing standards, a growing population, rising crime rates and a growing number of people experiencing mental health and substance use issues.

“A lot of things have contributed to the growing demand for police resources, and with our current situation as it is, I am not able to meet the growing demands without considering our staffing needs for the current and moving forward to the future,” Lecky said.

Lecky told council that Kamloops’ population is increasing, along with the crime rate. He said Kamloops has the highest crime rate of all B.C. RCMP municipalities with populations over 15,000.

He said increased requirements for supervising frontline officers, a need to have two officers attend mental health calls and IIO investigations also heighten demands on police.

Lecky said the city currently budgets for 129 members, but is “consistently unable to hit that number” as officers are off for a variety of reasons like parental or health leave.

Lecky said without enough available Mounties, it’s a challenge for officers to use their earned leaves and overtime is also required to maintain minimum staffing levels. He said this can have an impact on physical and mental health.

“There's 42 members of our detachment that have excessive leave over 400 hours, meaning we're not getting to burn the leave we need because of the pressures and requirements that keep our frontline operational. So that equates to roughly 11,000 hours of unused leave, that’s more than five full time people for the year,” Lecky said.

Mayor Ken Christian asked Lecky to provide his opinion on recruitment, and any challenges the Kamloops detachment faces in attracting officers.

Lecky said there are recruitment pressures, but it isn’t from a lack of people wanting to come to Kamloops.

He said the complexity and scrutiny on officers is increasing, and especially before the RCMP union renegotiated its new contract, members weren’t getting paid what they deserve.

“It doesn't make it the most appetizing profession to want to wade into,” he said.

However, Lecky said while the pandemic had slowed down transfers, Kamloops is still a desirable post.

“We do have interest. But because of the same concerns that everybody else is having, a lot of the times those members aren't released to be able to come to their desired post. So I do anticipate that, years down the road, will be somewhat relaxed. However, it is currently a pressure that we're dealing with.”

Coun. Denis Walsh said he agrees the detachment needs adequate staffing levels, but said he would prefer to see a two to three year plan instead of a plan projected out to 2027.

Walsh said he believes more time is needed to see if the introduction of Community Service Officers and changes in the pandemic create positive shifts for community safety.

“To judge everything based on the past two years is not a place to be,” Walsh said.

Lecky said it’s important to plan ahead.

“If past indication is representative of future performance, I can tell you we are going to be in for some challenges. Are we going to always work towards improving as we move forward? Absolutely,” Lecky said.

“If for some reason our crime rate decreases and our file count decreases, there is nothing to say that I can not hire or ask for more members or we can stop bringing people in.”

Council voted 8-1 in favour of adopting the RCMP’s five year business plan, with Walsh opposed.

Kathy Humphrey, the city’s corporate services director, said with the adoption of the plan, the city is likely two to three years out before they have to do any increases in the budget other than an expected annual increase for wages.

“A lot of this ask over the next few years will simply help get the roadable officers to that amount that council has already approved and is already partly funded,” Humphrey said.

Humphrey said staff will bring forward any changes to the RCMP contract as part of the fall budget meeting each year.



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