Public safety Communities concerned about lack of police presence, response times

C7

MARY-ELLEN SAUNDERS
TELEGRAPH-JOURNAL

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ST. ANDREWS - A lack of police presence and the need for more police officers is an issue for many of New Brunswick's municipalities, says Raymond Murphy.

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Ross White

Murphy, executive director of the Union of Municipalities of New Brunswick, was in St. Andrews over the weekend to meet with councillors and mayors from across the province for the annual general meeting of the Union of Municipalities of New Brunswick.

The group lobbies provincial and federal governments on issues of importance to all municipalities.

Murphy said communities have noticed a lack of police presence with the RCMP's district system and some communities are experiencing wait times of an hour or longer for the Mounties to respond to a call. He said the union has a group dedicated to working with the RCMP's J division to bring in more officers and better services.

Superintendent Ross White, the RCMP's district policing officer, met with the municipalities Saturday to discuss what the force is doing to increase service to municipalities all over the province.

White said the force has invested in more crime analysts and hired community co-ordinators to lessen the load on officers and give them more time to be on the streets fighting crime instead of at their desk behind a computer.

Ross said the RCMP is also trying to hire back district assistants to posts across the province. Ten years ago, Ross said, the RCMP switched to the district policing model and many of the secretaries or assistants in smaller satellite offices were moved to the 12 district offices. Ross said the force is trying to send back assistants, where possible, to their old posts to make the system more efficient. The RCMP official said streamlining is being done, where possible, to give officers more time to fight crime instead of doing paperwork. He said officers now have computers in their cars so they can file from their cars while continuing to be visible in the community. He said the RCMP is also looking into e-ticketing, a system that enables an officer to slide a licence through a hand-held machine and the ticket just comes out like a receipt at a restaurant.

Ross said the Mounties in New Brunswick are also facing some challenges. With baby boomers retiring, he said it is estimated that by 2010, 62 per cent of the officers will have less than five years of experience. Currently, Ross said, 47 per cent of the officers have less than two years service.

He said the new officers bring a lot to the table, with new ideas and energy, but also require a lot of training, which is time off the streets.

With only a few general questions asked after the speech, Murphy said he was expecting more debate.

Murphy said the union's RCMP ad hoc group will be taking all questions from municipalities across the province and forwarding them to the RCMP.