DIDSBURY - Town council has reviewed and accepted the new Didsbury RCMP municipal detachment five-year financial plan in principle.
The move came by way of motion at the recent regularly scheduled council meeting.
The updated plan runs from April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2028 for the Didsbury municipal detachment. It includes a listing of Municipal Police Service Agreement positions, a listing of resources required to support the service, a forecast of future year costs, and other information related to the local service.
It was prepared under the direction of Didsbury RCMP detachment commander Staff Sgt. Stephen Browne, in consultation with the RCMP Alberta operations strategy branch.
Under the existing agreement between the Town of Didsbury and the RCMP, the municipality pays 70 per cent of costs and the federal government the other 30 per cent.
Providing and maintaining the service each fiscal year includes operating and maintenance costs such as salaries, benefits and indirect costs, transpiration and equipment, professional services, repairs, utilities, supplies and miscellaneous operational expenses.
The 2023-2028 plan calls for one additional regular member in the position of school resource officer/community policing officer in 2023-2024, at the cost of $153,162.
“The addition of a school resource officer would allow us to focus on working in and with schools, supporting complex students and social issues unique to school settings,” said Browne.
“The enhanced presence would also provide greater opportunity for vulnerable youth to speak with a police officer regarding violence and abuse at home.
“School resources officers also provide a plethora of educational presentations to the student body, such as bulling, drug/alcohol impaired driving, the dangers of fentanyl, sexting, traffic safety for teens and unhealthy relationships and dating violence, just to name a few.”
The plan also calls for the addition of a municipal employee in 2025-2026.
“The court process has been increasingly onerous on police agencies for several years,” he said. “We moved to an electronic discourse process where all investigative documents are submitted to the courts in an electronic format. This process has resulted in a significant workload increase for support staff.
“With Carstairs entering into an MPSA in the next 18-24 months, an additional support staff resource will be added to the Didsbury detachment.”
The heath and wellness of RCMP employees will remain a priority for the police service over the next five years, he said.
“There is continued focus on mental health initiatives to ensure RCMP employees are well equipped to manage the stress associated with the nature of police work, and remain healthy and productive,” he said.
The Didsbury RCMP detachment building is owned by the Town of Didsbury.
“A work-space analysis its required for the Didsbury detachment,” he said. “There is insufficient parking space available to accommodate seven police vehicles, 25-foot enclosed ATV trailer, private vehicles of both police officers, support staff and victim services as well as the general public,” he said.
“An anticipated increase to resource level will result in the requirements for additional parking spaces.”
Regarding operational equipment, there will be a need going forward for such things as officer firearms, body-worn cameras, conductive energy weapons, portable ballistic shields, breaching equipment, extended range impact weapons, and hard body armour, he said.
Specifically regarding pistol modernization, he said the RCMP has been reviewing the requirement to replace the current 9mm Smith and Wesson duty pistols, which have been in use since 1994.
“A variety of issues have arisen, suggesting the current pistol does not meet the needs of Alberta RCMP members,” he said. “Industry advancements have been made, resulting in the availability of lighter-weight pistols which also allow for attachment of lights, improves ergonomics and increased reliability.
“Within this replacement strategy, modern pistols will have features that ensure the firearm is suitable for use by the widest demographic of police."
Council passed the following motion: “That council accept the Didsbury Municipal Detachment multi-year financial plan for April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2028 in principle and that any service capacity increase is presented to the Town of Didsbury.”
Mayor Rhonda Hunter, deputy mayor Curt Engel and Coun. John Baswick did not attend the Jun. 14 council meeting.
