Langley City council has given preliminary approval to an RCMP request for six more officers.
As approved by unanimous vote at a June 26 meeting, a letter of approval in principle will be sent to the federal government to approve an increase that would boost the number of officers funded by the City to 57 (plus partial funding of a 58th) and increase the RCMP total budget cap to $15.3 million.
At the meeting, Mayor Nathan Pachal described the decision as preliminary, one that “really sets the high water threshold for the federal government – and where we land at budget time could be different.”
Pachal also noted talks are under way with the Township of Langley on the larger municipality’s decision to withdraw from an agreement with the City to share policing costs “as we work towards whatever the future of policing in Langley looks like.”
Following the meeting, Pachal told the Langley Advance Times the decision to tentatively approve more officers was not a response to the Township move, it was part of an regular, annual, process where the federal government asks municipalities served by the RCMP to estimate how many officers they will need in advance.
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In May, Township council voted to end a cost-sharing agreement with Langley City, under which the two communities share the RCMP detachment building in Murrayville, complaining it was paying more than it should.
In his report to City Council on the request for more officers, Darrin Leite, City corporate services manager, and deputy chief administrative officer, noted City and Township have shared the total detachment costs using an equity sharing formula based on the five-year “rolling average crime rates and population statistics.”
Currently, the detachment strength is 210 RCMP members, Leite reported.
RCMP Supt Adrian Marsden, the officer in charge of the detachment, has advised the six additional Mounties would include one mental health unit position, two traffic positions, one Community Police Office position, and two general duty members.
Leite estimated each new member would cost $230,968.
A final decision on the additional officers will be deferred until the City financial plan is presented to Council in early 2024.
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