The number is mind-boggling: $127 million. That's how much it cost to investigate and prosecute a single murder case, according to a report on RCMP contract negotiations. While the Robert Pickton case was an extraordinary one, it underscores a concern municipal governments have over the soaring costs of policing provided by the RCMP -- costs over which they have no control and which far exceed the cost of living. "It's just not a sustainable model," Phyllis Carlyle, general manager of law and community safety, bluntly told the city's community safety committee meeting Tuesday, during a discussion of contract negotiations with the RCMP. The B.C. government is renegotiating a 20-year contract with the RCMP on behalf of municipalities like Richmond, which have a single "silent partner" representing municipal government at the negotiating table.
Like passengers in a car that is going too fast towards a cliff, Richmond city council can only offer backseat advice. When faced with additional expenditures, like the doubling of the cost of a police communications system called PRIME, city council's strongest weapon appears to be a stern letter of objection. PRIME (Police Records Information Management Environment) is an electronic database that gives police officers instant information on criminals, like mug shots, parole conditions, etc. The costs to the City of Richmond will rise from $105,000 to $210,000 next year. The increase comes with no consultation and little warning to the municipal governments that will pay the tab, Carlyle said, prompting Coun. Bill McNulty to suggest the city should write a letter of objection. "I think it should be very strongly worded," he added. Liberal MLA Linda Reid (Richmond-East) insists municipalities should have known the increases were coming, because police chiefs and RCMP superintendents were told in 2006 that the province would move to a full recovery model within three years. "If they're making the claim they didn't know that, they, in fact, knew that in 2006," Reid said. Coun. Evelina Halsey-Brandt said senior governments like to garner the good press by announcing "tough on crime" measures, but it is the municipal taxpayer who ends up paying those costs. "They make all the announcements and we get all the costs," she said.
The average salary for an RCMP member has risen from $66,159 in 2002 to $78,675 in 2009. When things like operations costs are factored in (cars, radios, etc.), the per-officer costs for RCMP are $138,000 per officer. Ottawa picks up 10 per cent of those costs. But municipalities are also paying more all the time for specialized regional units, like an integrated gang task force, that many feel are a regional or provincial matter and which should therefore be covered by senior governments, not local taxpayers. The current contract with the RCMP represents 21 per cent of the city's budget, $33 million. Fire-rescue represents 17 per cent, $27 million. Coun. Greg Halsey-Brandt said the costs of both policing and firefighting are out of control, largely because the city has no direct control over wages. He points to regional statistics that show the cost of police and fire wages increased five per cent in 2009, while the Vancouver consumer price index was 1.6 per cent. If the costs of police and fire continue on their current trajectory, Halsey-Brandt said cities will be faced with some tough choices because taxpayers will not be able to afford the increases needed. "At a point you start looking at your parks and recreation programs," he said. Halsey-Brandt said ultimately the value of policing is largely what counts.
According to Statistics Canada, the Richmond, Burnaby, Langley and Port Coquitlam RCMP detachments were in the bottom five across Canada for crime clearance rates. The worst in the country was Victoria, which is a municipal police force. "That's an interesting statistic," Halsey-Brandt told the News. "It would be good to understand why." Despite concerns over costs and lack of accountability, 85 per cent of the municipalities in B.C. served by the RCMP have voted in favour of renegotiating a contract with the police force.
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