Photo: CTV News
UPDATE at 4:28 p.m.
BC RCMP Commanding Officer Dwayne MacDonald responded to the committee’s report calling for a new provincial police, saying he would take the time to review the report but was proud of the RCMP’s work in British Columbia.
“I am very proud of the RCMP team, which works incredibly hard every day to keep BC communities safe and secure, and we remain committed to doing so.”
“We will take the time to fully analyze and review the commission’s report and their recommendations. Until this full review is completed, we will not speculate on the next steps. Discussions about the role and future of the police are not limited to BC and include considerations such as governance, accountability, service delivery and funding. Efforts are already being made to develop, modernize and improve the police force, “said MacDonald.
The RCMP contract is until 2032.
ORIGINAL 16:00
A special committee has recommended that British Columbia set up its own new provincial police force.
A special commission to reform the Police Act has been appointed to investigate the province’s police following allegations of systemic racism and other police problems.
CTV News Vancouver reports that the commission has spent 15 months addressing issues such as accountability and answering calls involving mental health and addictions.
The commission’s recommendations include 11 key points, including BC to create a new Community Safety and Police Act and to set up a provincial police agency to be governed by this legislation.
“It has become clear that transformative change is needed to achieve a new vision for community policing and security rooted in decolonization, anti-racism, community and accountability,” the committee said in a report to the legislature released Thursday.
The RCMP is the default police service for municipalities with a population of less than 5,000, as well as for rural and unincorporated areas, but much larger areas such as Kelowna are also controlled by the RCMP.
The Committee praised the Mounties for their efforts to develop, but ultimately felt that there was too much discrepancy between the priorities of the provincial and municipal police, “in their experience the RCMP is not as effective in the culture and community of British Columbia as much as the municipal police services ”.
“They stressed the importance of ensuring that the Police Act focuses on public safety and allows local norms and expectations to be reflected in the provision of services,” the report said.
Dr Bonnie Henry was particularly concerned about the criminal justice-based approach to the ongoing overdose crisis, noting that amendments to the existing Police Act could help the province move towards decriminalization.
The National Police Federation’s union called the discussion “a little premature”.
“From our point of view, we have made waves – many waves – of independent police research in British Columbia, and consistently British Colombians have told us they are very happy with the policing they get from the RCMP,” union president Brian Sove told CTV News.
-with files from CTV News Vancouver
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