Town of Rocky Mountain House council is calling for RCMP reinforcements.
Last week, council discussed policing and the consensus was more RCMP officers are needed to patrol the town and Clearwater County.
Twelve RCMP officers are assigned to the town and another four are technically allocated to the county. However, in practise the 16 officers are part of a shared detachment and go where they are needed, whether it’s in town or in the county.
Mayor Debbie Baich put policing on the table at last Thursday’s council meeting with a notice of motion to reinstate two policing positions cut about two years ago as a cost-saving measure. Rocky Mountain House and dozens of other municipalities were unexpectedly hit with big policing bills to cover pay increases retroactive to 2017 in a new RCMP contract.
In Alberta, the cost to communities was $60 million.
“I strongly feel we should have two more members back in service,” said Baich. “I don’t really want to wait until we have a new federal government to make these things happen.
“I know it’s a costly thing, but I feel strongly that policing is important to our community.”
Police are providing 24-hour coverage but there are often not enough officers to undertake additional initiatives such as crime reduction programs.
Council believes more officers are needed for Clearwater County, which would reduce the pressure on the town’s Mounties, who must often respond to incidents far outside the community.
Town administration was directed to write a letter to Yellowhead MP Gerald Soroka and RCMP’s K-Division to address Rocky Mountain House and Clearwater County’s policing shortfalls.
National Police Federation (NPF) director Kevin Halwa is not surprised Rocky Mountain House is seeking more officers and he agrees more are needed to cover the large area for which they are responsible.
Halwa and fellow Prairie Region NPF director Jeff McGowan urged Public Safety and Emergency Services Minister Mike Ellis last week to properly fund Alberta’s RCMP, which they said has not received any additional funding since 2019.
The NPF, which represents 20,000 RCMP officers across Canada and internationally, has been calling on the province to invest an additional $80 million to hire 400 more RCMP officers.