Budget cuts worry Vernon RCMP

Robert Buffam, CHBC : Monday, January 21, 2013 12:00 AM

Vernon city council recently approved a 1.8 percent increase for the local RCMP’S annual budget.   
But the RCMMP had requested an increase of 6.7 percent to their budget. As a result, local police say they'll now likely have to cut back their staff from 50 officers to 48. The RCMP superintendent worries that that decrease in staff may lead to a spike in crimes. "The concern is whenever you don't have that presence, that high visibility presence, then the visible street crime returns," says Superintendent, Reg Burgess. It’s the visible street crime he's worrying about, things like prostitution and selling drugs out in the open. But the city's mayor is optimistic his city's streets won't necessarily take a hit just because it's policing budget did. "I think there's quite a bit of evidence that there are a number of ways to reduce crime that don't involve paying more police officers," says Mayor, Rob Sawatzky. Burgess is not convinced. “Fewer police on the street usually translates to higher crime from my experience.” And he worries that the gradual in-roads his team has made in crime rates over the past few years might be reversed.  "I'm a little concerned that we're going to have a hard time maintaining the crime reduction that we've had over the last three years." The mayor says he worries about the best way to fight crime here too but adds council's decisions are restricted by fiscal realities. A decision on the police budget will be finalized by council at the end of April.