A review of police services in Prince George is recommending a plan for community safety and well-being, as well as more officers and more municipal employees at the PG RCMP detachment.
The review was presented before Prince George City Council this afternoon (Wednesday) at a special Committee of the Whole meeting.
During this year’s budget considerations in January, council directed administration to conduct a resource review of police services.
The review was conducted by Curt Griffiths Research and Consulting over the course of 2022.
“One of the things we take a look at, anytime we do a resource review, is whether or not existing resources that a police service has, in this case, is being used as effectively and efficiently as possible,” said Dr. Curt Griffiths.
“In other words, before they ask for more, what are they doing with what they’ve got.”
Griffiths said they conducted focus groups with members of the Prince George RCMP detachment, to see what their lived experience was, what they thought the landscape was, and how they’re coping with the demands for service they had.
“Of course a thread through that is mental health and well-being,” Griffiths explained.
“About 20 per cent of the officers in this detachment are off, not deployable, that’s about the provincial average.”
He added that there’s more that should be off, that should be off.
Griffiths said that Prince George has been using what he calls a “siloed” approach, meaning different agencies and organizations are operating individually, rather than collectively.
“I’m going to be frank, there’s no plan here, and you’re not unusual, most communities don’t have a plan, but are moving quickly to start developing some plans,” Griffiths said.
“All of the different pieces right now are scattered all over the table, and so when we talk about resourcing, and the comment may be made, ‘we can’t spend the money,’ the way we see it, the money is being spent, it’s just not being spent in a framework.”
Griffiths added they’re not criticizing the city, as it’s just the way things have evolved.
The review also used community input, which received over 1,500 responses, which found that:
- 79% of residents believe crime has increased
- Feelings of being unsafe are pervasive
- There is a hidden figure of crime due to under-reporting
- There are gaps between public expectations of agencies and the police re community safety and perceived performance
The review found that the detachment has virtually no capacity to do community policing, including proactive community engagement, collaborative partnerships, and partnerships.
“We’re not tasking criticism the RCMP in terms of them having disbanded some of their community policing components,” Griffiths said.
“They’ve had no choice, because they’re so tight on resources that they’ve had to push everybody out on the front line.”
The review recommends bringing on 19 more sworn in officers over the next few years, including:
- Detachment HELP Unit (2)(2024)
- Neighbourhood Police Officers (4)(2024)
- Additional CAR 60 (1)(Co-funded with Northern Health)(2025)
- Community Policing Team (4)(2025)
- School Resource Officers (4)(2023)
- Youth Liaison Team (4)(2023)
It also recommends the following positions for Detachment Municipal Employees;
- Community Policing Coordinator
- Victim Services Worker
- Transcription
- Crime Analyst
- Forensic Identification Specialist
- CPIC Operator
- Exhibits
- Mental Health Workers (2, to be co-deployed with the Youth Liaison Team)
- Missing Persons Unit Social/Family Worker
- Data Processors
- Peer Navigator for Public Library
“Your presentation was vivid, it was visceral, I hated hearing it, and that’s why we needed to hear it,” said Councillor Garth Frizzell.
“You’ve given us an eye opening moment at the time when we needed our eyes open.”
Prince George City Council will be considering the 2023 Police Budget Enhancement Requests as a part of 2023’s budget deliberations, as well as initiating a resourced Community Safety and Well Being planning process in accordance with Council’s upcoming 2023-2026 strategic planning process.