WHEREAS the Royal Canadian Mounted Police RCMP staffing numbers in communities with small RCMP detachments are greatly affected by sick and parental leaves taken by RCMP members; AND WHEREAS the level of police enforcement in small communities can be inadequate and ineffective when vacancies reduce the full complement of RCMP officers: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Union of British Columbia Municipalities urge the Ministry of Public Safety and the Solicitor General to provide the necessary budget to provide reserve officers to fill vacancies left by RCMP officers on sick or parental leave.
MINISTRY OF PUBLIC SAFETY SOLICITOR GENERAL The Ministry recognizes that both short and long term vacancies due to sick leave and parental leave can create significant challenges for existing police resources within rural communities. The Ministrys Police Services Division and the RCMP are working together on an in-depth study into the current allocation of rural police resources. This will help us determine the scope of the problem and generate some options for solutions. The Reserve Program was piloted in BC in 2004, and later expanded nationally in 2006, as a human resource tool to alleviate temporary staffing shortages caused by leaves. The program in its current form has not been operating at its full potential due to the limitations in its design and challenges with its implementation. As a result of an evaluation of the effectiveness and operational efficiency of the pilot conducted in May 2008, the pilot has been extended until 2013 and with many of the constraints on the program removed. The Province believes that the program can be adapted as a successful strategy to meet some of the short and long term human resource needs.