The head of the Manitoba RCMP reassured communities Friday that backup is on the way in the face of a staffing shortage that has forced the reduction or cancellation of enforcement programs, including in Steinbach, the province’s third-largest city.
“We are always looking at keeping community and public safety first and foremost,” said Scott McMurchy, assistant commissioner of D Division, one day after it was reported Manitoba desperately needs 100 additional Mounties because the force is stretched so thin.
The shortage of officers in Manitoba is so acute that Mounties in other provinces have been asked to volunteer to work here for two weeks to bolster the ranks. Saskatchewan and the North are also understaffed.
The individual officers, whose commanders have to approve the move, have been asked to work in Manitoba either in February or April to cover general duty shortages. In addition, current staff will be reassigned in the short term to better fill gaps.
“Internally, we have already established, within our existing resources, a rotating relief schedule to ensure the locations which are in the greatest need have sufficient resources,” McMurchy said.
That’s welcome news to Steinbach’s deputy mayor, who said traffic enforcement has taken a back seat to crime investigations at the local detachment.
“We are funding 18 positions, but we don’t always have those 18 positions. We have three, four or five vacancies. It is definitely a point of frustration when we’re not getting the number of officers we want,” said Coun. Michael Zwaagstra. “We’ve noticed it is very hard to have all the positions filled at any given time.”
For example, Zwaagstra said, the community has made traffic enforcement a priority due to street racing and is willing to pay for one position just for that.
“But, when you’re down officers, things which are important are not urgent, so the urgent ones are dealt with the others aren’t. It’s a point of concern.”
“We’ve noticed it is very hard to have all the positions filled at any given time.”–Steinbach Coun. Michael Zwaagstra
Steinbach is one 21 municipalities in Manitoba that have a contract with RCMP for policing. To get it, each pays 90 per cent of the cost for the officers they need.
As well, under a federal-provincial agreement, Manitoba pays 70 per cent of the cost of having the RCMP as the province’s policing agency while the federal government pays the rest.
McMurchy said the request to ask officers in other provinces to do two-week stints here will give staff a rest or focus solely on complicated investigations. He said all of the temporary officers will be deployed to northern Manitoba.
The force has ditched a policy, enacted during the pandemic, to allow recruits to determine where they would work.
“That was a benefit for the force as a whole, to get our recruitment numbers up, but I think it is recognized now that (it has) been a little bit of a detriment to a smaller or medium-sized division such as Manitoba,” said McMurchy.
As well, RCMP will deploy many of the graduating cadets to Manitoba.
“They are working to prioritize the Manitoba applicants and those who have expressed interest in coming to Manitoba.”
MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS FILES
Scott McMurchy, assistant commissioner of D Division, said the request to ask officers in other provinces to do two-week stints here will give staff a rest or focus solely on complicated investigations. He said all of the temporary officers will be deployed to northern Manitoba.
McMurchy said he expects the province to have an additional 100 officers within the next six to nine months.
“I could always use a little bit more — 100 certainly will help,” he said.
“We’ve got to get fully staffed… we also have plans in the works, with the province of Manitoba, to expand other areas of policing, that we need to shore up. Things such as cyber crime… organized crime and so forth, so I need resources.
“I need the cadets to come in and fill those front-line positions, and get trained up and become experienced, so I can take more experienced police officers to put them into the specialized units.”
Premier Wab Kinew said people who live in communities policed by the RCMP are fully aware of the shortage.
“Anyone who lives in rural Manitoba can tell you that there have been concerns around staffing with the RCMP for quite some time now for many years,” said Kinew.
“I encourage young people to consider a career in law enforcement, to consider this as an opportunity which leads to not only having a great career, but also to answer a calling and to give back to our communities here.”
— with files from Carol Sanders
kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca
Kevin Rollason
Reporter
Kevin Rollason is a general assignment reporter at the Free Press. He graduated from Western University with a Masters of Journalism in 1985 and worked at the Winnipeg Sun until 1988, when he joined the Free Press. He has served as the Free Press’s city hall and law courts reporter and has won several awards, including a National Newspaper Award. Read more about Kevin.
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