WHEREAS the RCMP Lower Mainland Integrated Teams were established without consultation with the municipalities that they are to serve; AND WHEREAS the integrated teams have been formed to serve the Lower Mainland rather than individual municipalities: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that local governments are not required to financially support the RCMP Lower Mainland Integrated Teams.
Ministry of Public Safety Solicitor General The services provided by the regionally integrated teams are services that municipalities are responsible for providing as part of their municipal police service. The RCMP is responsible for the operational aspects of policing and they have determined that the most effective way to provide these specialized services is by regionally integrated teams. Integration helps communities stretch their policing dollars further, by giving every police force access to sophisticated equipment and expert police resources. The BC Association of Chiefs of Police supports integration and, in the Lower Mainland, the RCMP Mayors Consultative Forum all supported integration. With the Forums support, a single, integrated homicide investigations team IHIT was established for the Lower Mainland in May 2003, making sophisticated investigative tools available to every community in the region, and enhancing police ability to track complex cases across municipal boundaries. Based on the success of IHIT, further integration was approved, coordinating shift schedules to enable 247 coverage around the Lower Mainland District. Government is working closely with municipalities and police to ensure police resources are used effectively and efficiently.