RCMP costs in Kamloops will go up by $928,000 next year, which led to discussion at council about a municipal police force.
Councillor Denis Walsh says it’s worth at least finding out if there could be cost savings.
“I think a municipal police force would probably have more resources to deal with that. I know there’s a lot of disagreement over that, but I know there’s quite a few municipalities in B.C. doing that. So I think the cost, it would be interesting to know if there were any cost savings in that model. If it realizes into a four or five per cent increase in wages, to me then that starts opening up the idea that we should explore that opportunity.”
Councillor Mike O’Reilly says the city could find a middle ground with designated peace officers on the street.
“I was driving in Vancouver – going back a few weeks ago, and I came across an accident, and lo and behold I’m driving by and there’s a peace officer, there wasn’t a police officer there. It allows the police to keep going after the drug kingpins, going after the important police work that they do. And I think that’s something we strongly should consider before a municipal police force.”
Councillor Arjun Singh says policing makes up 14.9 per cent of the city’s budget, which he expects to go up with the eventual unionization of RCMP.
“The police are an ever-increasing costly resource. And we’re going to have a big bump now with what’s happening with the new regime of unionization… We have to be mindful of how much we’re spending there and look for ways to be able to not spend that kind of money.”
Mayor Ken Christian says he researched the idea when he was a councillor in 2015 and says typically, the break-even point is about 250-thousand people before a municipal force is viable for a city.
“You could probably cover the (watch commanders) with a municipal police department, you really can’t do the specialized kinds of investigation that is now required in modern-day policing.”
Christian says when it comes to large-scale investigations, there are some shared resources for within the Southeast District RCMP.
