Richmond city council has approved hiring 11 more police officers, but questions remain as to whether the RCMP can deliver on its request.
“We never seemed to have filled up our full complement” of officers from last year, said Coun. Derek Dang, speaking to Richmond RCMP Supt. Rennie Nesset during a drawn-out discussion at a city council meeting Monday evening at Richmond city hall.
At issue is the fact Richmond is presently authorized to have 214 officers on duty and a base budget for 203, but only has 189 active members, with an additional 18 on modified duty or administrative leave.
The lack of officers has sparked criticism among some councillors.
Coun. Dang questioned whether the RCMP is providing Richmond with adequate staffing levels.
Council had approved 12 new officers last year, however the city has yet to see all of them in uniform.
Nesset insisted the RCMP will deliver on that request by the end of this month. He said the RCMP will have another year to deliver the additional 11 officers, plus three municipal staff members, come 2017.
Council approved the new staffing levels at an additional cost of $2.3 million.
As a result of the understaffing, Dang expressed concerns about the amount of money the city is paying in overtime to the detachment. He cited a recent CBC News report that notes the RCMP is spending roughly $150 million each year in overtime (nation-wide), resulting in stressed-out officers as a result of lack of staff.
“You have people operating (with) stress and not at capacity and this isn’t a service to the community,” said Dang.
Nesset acknowledged overtime payments are a concern, but downplayed the impact of officers ending up on long-term disability.
Another issue raised by Coun. Bill McNulty is the perception that Richmond is only receiving new recruits and losing experienced officers to fields elsewhere.
“I’m hoping Richmond loses its tag that we’re a good spot for promotion. I’d like to see our officers stay here and be a part of the community,” said McNulty.
Nesset said the RCMP attempts to promote within the detachment.
Also at issue is whether or not the RCMP is paying its officers well enough in order to retain them.
Nesset cited an instance where one Richmond Mountie left for the Vancouver Police Department to earn $20,000 more per year. He said the RCMP does provide better benefits to offset the wage gaps vis-a-vis municipal forces.
“Sounds like you have to have a lot of kids with crooked teeth to make up for 20 grand a year,” interjected Coun. Alexa Loo.
Council is also cognizant of potential unionization talks within the RCMP. The City of Richmond claims it is prepared for increased costs. It has already accounted for a 2.7 per cent increase to wages this year.
In April, council decided to keep the RCMP after reviewing whether or not to create a municipal force.
