High-profile crime incidents in the Battlefords have prompted a new debate among many North Battleford residents.
The debate is whether to end the city's contract with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and go with a city police force instead.
It's a discussion other similar-sized communities have had in recent years, and has come up in more than one discussion recently, including during former finance director Matthew Hartney's visit before the Battlefords Chamber of Commerce just prior to his departure to Ontario. During that discussion in September, Hartney floated the idea of a city-run police force as an alternative to another RCMP contract.
The idea of a city-run force has gained traction with some residents, some of whom have expressed frustration with a perceived lack of progress in bringing down the city's crime severity index rating - which for communities over 10,000 has been the worst in the country for four years in a row.
Lately, success with high-profile arrests, as well as well-received moves by the force to disclose more information about crime-fighting activities on a daily basis in North Battleford, have been greeted with widespread support and encouragement. North Battleford city councillor Ryan Bater noted publicly on more than one occasion the mood has shifted from one of "why aren't they doing anything" to empathy over the number of situations the RCMP members must deal with every day.
The performance of the RCMP does not seem to be the main driver behind talk about having a municipal force. Instead, the issue cited most often is money.
The City of North Battleford is one of a number of Saskatchewan communities that has a Municipal Police Service Agreement with the RCMP for policing services. The Town of Battleford is currently serviced by the RCMP's rural detachment under a different funding scheme.
According to information in a technical briefing to the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association on police service agreements on Jan. 29, 2012, communities under 5,000 population, such as Battleford, are covered by a Provincial Police Services Agreement where the tab is picked up by the province and the federal government on a 70/30 split.
But communities that hit the magic 5,000 number needed for "city" status are in for a rude awakening. At that number they are on the hook to pay for RCMP services under a cost share formula that sees those cities pay 70 per cent of the costs while the federal government funds 30 per cent.
This is the situation for the City of North Battleford at the moment. According to the 2014 budget document, North Battleford currently pays for 36 RCMP member positions at 70 per cent of the total cost, though the province does contribute $735,000 in an annual operating grant towards seven police officers under its Enhanced Policing Policy initiative.
When communities hit 15,000 population, the formula changes again. Instead of being on the hook for 70 per cent of the cost, that cost share percentage goes up to 90 per cent, with the federal contribution being 10 per cent. According to the SUMA technical briefing, this 90 per cent share is in recognition of the municipality's ability to pay.
That number has implications for North Battleford, where the topic of RCMP funding has come up at budget meetings in recent years.
At budget deliberations held in December 2011, the City's then director of finance, Byron Tumbach, pointed to the release of upcoming census figures and noted the financial implications that would have if the city hit the magic 15,000 number. According to a News-Optimist report of Dec. 15, 2011:
"If the city exceeds 15,000 population, Tumbach said the contract with the RCMP could change dramatically as the cost share per member would go from 70 to 90 per cent. That would mean the RCMP contract would increase by more than $770,000 from April to December 2012 and over $1 million the year after that."
As it turns out, when the census did come out the city was able to avoid that big financial hit - this time. Figures showed North Battleford's population had increased to 13,888.
That number is obviously too close for comfort for City officials. A population jump of just 1,112 would be enough to put the City on the hook for 90 per cent of the funding in an RCMP contract, an estimated extra $1 million.
The City now has at least a few years to plan for the next census and some suggestions have been floated about how to deal with the looming issue. The ideas have ranged from building up financial reserves and the lobbying of other levels of government for money, to more radical proposals.
One idea, floated by some in the community, is possibly bringing an end to the RCMP contract and switching to a municipal police force.
Currently six cities are serviced by municipal police forces in Saskatchewan: Saskatoon, Regina, Prince Albert, Moose Jaw, Weyburn and Estevan. There are also municipal forces in Dalmeny, Caronport and Luseland and in the RMs of Corman Park, Vanscoy and Wilton, and at File Hills First Nation. All other communities with over 500 people are serviced by the RCMP.
It may not be easy to make the switch, though. Hitting the magic population figure of 15,000, and being responsible for a cost share of 90 per cent is difficult enough. But a big issue is whether the City is willing or able to take on some of the specialized police services that currently come without any additional cost through a contract with the RCMP.
In speaking to the News-Optimist/Regional Optimist prior to arriving in the Battlefords, the new inspector for the RCMP in the Battlefords, John Sutherland, noted there are a number of specialized services the RCMP provide in the Battlefords that come as part of the package of having the RCMP in the community.
"Currently we provide a number of specialized services such as police dogs, forensic identification, major crimes - those are all stationed in North Battleford, and they're provided as the support service that come with the package of engaging the RCMP for a the detachment or for a city," Sutherland said.
These are services that go beyond the normal ones the local detachment provides on a regular basis. As outlined in the city's 2014 budget document, the municipal detachment is able to acquire the assistance of the following sections: RCMP laboratory services, the RCMP tactical team, the major crimes unit, the RCMP HASTY team (search and rescue), commercial crime units and the RCMP Emergency Response team.
All these specialized sections provide service and support for the detachment without any extra cost to the City.
But if the city establishes a municipal detachment, they would need to figure out how to deliver those same services.
"If the city were to go it alone, that would be a service they would have to provide to residents," Sutherland confirmed.
The draft 2014 city budget document did not mention any changeover from the RCMP to a municipal force.
It also spelled out in detail the costs of providing policing services every year. The total policing services expense in the 2014 draft budget was calculated at $4,670,412, with total operating revenue at $1,378,500 - a number that includes grants, fees and charges.
That puts the policing deficit at $3,290,000 for 2014 - a deficit that must be made up through other revenues to the City.
Another issue is whether North Battleford can even exit its RCMP contract. It is common for municipal service agreements to run for a long period of time, such as 20 years.
A move away from an RCMP contract to a municipal force would be a major change in any event. But there is question whether there is an appetite for such a dramatic move, particularly in the wake of the recent changes in coverage by the Battlefords RCMP.
There have already been changes to the chain of command. Instead of having a staff-sergeant leading the detachment, the top rank now belongs to the "inspector." Insp. Sutherland arrived in mid-January.
As well, coverage of the town of Battleford switched away from Battlefords City Detachment this past spring, and now falls under the command of the Battlefords rural detachment commander.
That new setup came into effect May 1, with all five RCMP officers for the Town of Battleford now reporting to rural instead of city.
The full impact of the establishment of the HUB is also yet to be seen. That organization sees 15 agencies in the city, including the RCMP and several social agencies, working together in efforts to create a safer community.
The HUB celebrated its first anniversary of operation this past September.
Whether the issue of potentially changing to a municipal force will be brought up at City Hall in the future remains to be seen. While the issue has come up at other forums, such as on the op-ed pages, it has not come up for serious discussion at any recent city council meetings or during the recent budget deliberation, a sure sign no major change is on the horizon.
It is possible the issue could yet be raised by candidates in the April 16 municipal byelection to fill the council seat left open by the departure of Trent Houk.
Right now council seems focused on other areas, such as how to bolster the current contingent of RCMP officers in the city and how that might be funded. City officials have been on record saying they want other levels of government to help out.
One is Bater, who has been vocal in pushing for additional assistance over the past several months.
Bater told council in October that, "especially when it relates to gang activity, this is not an isolated City of North Battleford problem. This is a regional issue, this is a provincial issue."
He believed the burden of paying for additional resources "does not necessarily need to rest on the shoulders of the taxpayers of our city."
In addition to the ongoing lobbying efforts towards provincial and federal officials, there has been recent talk at council about expanding activities of "peace officers." Peace officers fall under the umbrella of "municipal enforcement," but they could potentially help take some of the load off of the RCMP in areas such as traffic enforcement.
In any event, the issue of how to deliver police services in the city promises to be a lively one, with many local residents interested in seeing even more efforts and progress in stamping out crime.
