RCMP swamped with case loads, unable to effectively police Prince George, new report finds

RCMP in Prince George are dealing with more crime than almost any other city in the province, leading to high levels of burnout among officers and the inability to effectively police the community, a new report has found. 

The report was prepared by Surrey-based criminologists Curt Griffiths of Simon Fraser University and Joshua Murphy of Kwantlen Polytechnic University, as well as Eli Sopow, a business administrator based in Vancouver.

The trio of consultants looked at crime rates collected by Statistics Canada, a point-in-time homeless count, coroner's reports on illicit toxicity deaths, and the volume of emergency calls to police, fire and ambulance services in the city — which Griffiths described as a "tsunami."

"It's not a problem of perception versus reality," he said in a presentation to council Wednesday.

"The crime rates are so high they are out of bounds," he added.

"People [in Prince George] are fearful of crime because they should be."

Only Vancouver, Surrey have higher case loads

Using provincial data, the consultants found that in 2020, the case load for RCMP officers in Prince George is 84 per cent higher than average compared to other B.C. cities of more than 15,000 people.

Statistics Canada data also showed 66 per cent higher rates of violent crime compared to the B.C. average.

A supplemental report by the city's director of public safety also pointed out that only police in Surrey and Vancouver — home to nearly 569,000 and just over 662,000 people respectively — have higher case loads, despite Prince George being much smaller with just over 76,700 people.

As a result, "the detachment currently has virtually no capacity to do community policing," the authors write, describing it as "under-resourced" with high levels of burnout and mental fatigue.

Neither does the city have a long-term strategy for tackling related social issues such as homelessness, mental health and overdose calls, the consultants said.

Recommendations for a proactive approach

City councillor commissioned the report after noticing Prince George was paying more for RCMP compared to other, larger cities.

The report is intended to offer a better understanding of how the money was being spent and whether it could be used more effectively.

Now, both consultants and staff are recommending the city hire more than 30 new uniformed officers and civilian staff, including a peer navigator stationed at the downtown library to offer support to vulnerable people.

They also recommend the expansion of the Car 60 program, which pairs police with mental health experts supplied by Northern Health, and the formation of neighbourhood policing and a youth liaison team.

All the recommended positions are aimed at taking a more proactive approach to social issues.

"You can't arrest your way out of this situation," Griffiths said.

$5M needed to support extra policing

The total price tag is estimated at about $1 million a year, for a total of roughly $5 million annually by 2027.

But it comes at the same time as the city is attempting to cut roughly $3.5 million from its operating budget to avoid a tax increase of more than seven per cent in the year ahead.

Many councillors say the report confirmed what they had been hearing about crime rates in the community — and the need for the province to step in with additional support.

"If the province isn't stepping up and fulfilling their obligation, what's the line for us to say, we're not going to respond to [police] calls that are becoming social service issues?" Coun. Kyle Sampson said.

Coun. Garth Frizzell said the report was "eye-opening," while Coun. Cori Ramsay called it "disheartening."

"I've been definitely wondering [is the crime rate] as bad as people say it is," she said. "And we're hearing, yes, it is."

Staff have been asked to prepare a budget accounting for the addition of more police resources for the new year.

Council also plans to raise the issue with new Premier David Eby, who has promised to have the province take on a more proactive role in addressing social and public safety issues in cities across B.C.