RCMP added staff requests a tax grab
Aren’t people within the CVRD and Vancouver Island becoming concerned about the number of RCMP officers that are being requested by the different municipalities and regional districts?
With little research a person can find that there are 153 detachments within B.C. What cannot be easily found is the total number of RCMP officers that are stationed within these 153 detachments. Recently, I heard a news broadcast that the City of Nanaimo was requesting to add to their 153 RCMP roster. I wondered how that ratio of RCMP officers compared to police staffing in U.S. cities.
What’s easy to find is the average number of police officers per 10,000 population in the U.S., which is 15.9/10K for cities between 50K – 100K.
I believe Nanaimo has a population of about 85K. If the U.S. ratio were applied to the population of Nanaimo the number of RCMP would be approximately 135 officers. Does this tell me that Nanaimo is more crime infested than a similar U.S. city? I think not. I think especially in B.C. and on Vancouver Island we are “over policed” or the existing police force is not being managed effectively or efficiently.
The argument from the RCMP would be the “number of calls”. What has to be examined is not only the number of calls but also the CONTENT of the calls. After all, the RCMP requests the public to phone them about everything.
The “numbers” game is always used to extract more taxpayers’ money from the taxpayer pot. Hopefully, the taxpayers will start challenging these police hirings.
Greg Whynacht
Youbou
