‘First look’ at plan to replace RCMP in Kamloops has council exercising caution

The cost of ditching RCMP for municipal policing in Kamloops would increase the bill for taxpayers, but Mountie-served cities appear to have higher crime rates.

Kamloops city councillors examined a staff report on Monday, April 27, comparing ongoing policing costs among BC cities, but it’s not clear whether they’ll move toward what would be an expensive transition.

“This is our first look at something like this… I think there’s some exercising caution around the table right now,” Coun. Katie Neustaeter said.

It comes as the federal government signals moves away from contracted RCMP and, in the Okanagan, Kelowna examines whether it would get more value out of a municipal police force. Kelowna, which recently separated itself from regional policing, found it’s overpaying for its Mounties.

According to a staff report to a Kamloops council committee, RCMP is generally less expensive, partly because the province shoulders 10 per cent of the cost. There are also fewer officers in the ranks at an RCMP detachment, typically because municipal police forces typically have two officers in a patrol car while RCMP has just one.

While Kamloops has one officer for every 694 people, the average RCMP-served city has one Mountie for every 844 people. The average among BC cities with municipal police departments is an officer for every 659 people.

BC cities with municipal police also have lower crime rates than the average RCMP-served community, while their workload is substantially lower. While Kamloops doesn’t have the highest crime rate in the province, it is among the highest in the province and its officers have some of the highest case loads, according to the report.

Not discussed in the staff report is that municipal police also come with greater oversight, nor is the accompanied transition cost to replace RCMP. For Kelowna, the cost is estimated to be between $30 and $65 million.

The three-councillor committee didn’t discuss much about merits of whether to ditch the RCMP, but another councillor who isn’t on the committee has previously suggested Kamloops should examine whether the city should prepare for a transition.

Kamloops city council still hasn’t decided whether to replace its ageing RCMP detachment, while officers are squeezed in the small space, but Coun. Kelly Hall previously told iNFOnews.ca the prospect of life after RCMP should be considered as part of the plan.

He suggested Kamloops should follow Kelowna’s lead in auditing whether or not a municipal department would get local taxpayers the “best bang for their buck,” but no such study has begun.