Staffing shortage leads to amalgamation of RCMP resources in northern Manitoba

An amalgamation of resources in three northern Manitoba communities due to staffing shortages is a sharing of officers, not a loss of police services, the RCMP says. 

Officers in Flin Flon, Snow Lake and Cranberry Portage will go where needed and when needed in any of the three communities beginning Oct. 5. Detachments in the three communities will remain open, infrastructure will stay in place and resources will be shared, RCMP said in a statement. 

"Council is kind of scrambling to determine what we're going to do about this going forward," Snow Lake Mayor Ron Scott told host Marjorie Dowhos on CBC Radio Noon Tuesday. 

The RCMP statement said all three communities will continue to have policing services and calls will be responded to on a priority basis. 

Scott said the town of 1,100 permanent residents, which is 700 kilometres north of Winnipeg, also relies on the presence of officers as a deterrent.

He's also worried about wait times that may occur if officers have to come to the town from Flin Flon, which is a 190 kilometre drive from Snow Lake.

"We have a problem with drinking and driving. We also have a major drug problem in Snow Lake," Scott said.

Avoid officer burnout

Members of the fire department also require a police response for car accidents and other incidents, he said. 

"Waiting two hours for them to come from Flin Flon is really pushing the limits quite a bit."

The RCMP statement to CBC said the current staffing models can't be continued without leading to officer burnout. 

Bobby Baker, the Prairie director of the National Police Federation, said it's important for officers to get a break, especially in communities where there is a limited number of resources. 

"It's definitely not ideal and it's definitely something that we don't want for our officers. At the same time, our officers will continue to live in Snow Lake, and this is a temporary situation," he said. 

Baker also emphasized the need for officers to be rested in order to do their jobs well.

"The idea is to have a large pool of officers so that you can have a bit of a break so that you can be fresh," he said.

"To have an officer that's involved in a critical incident that's been basically working without a day off for years is so unsafe, and it just can't continue."

Scott said the community has been gathering letters of support from businesses and organizations and a petition has also been started.

The community has also been in touch with the Association of Manitoba Municipalities and Scott will request a meeting with the head of the Mounties' D Division — which oversees RCMP policing in Manitoba — and government officials, he said. 

The town held a meeting Tuesday and will hold another one Wednesday afternoon to get residents on the same page, clear up rumours and have community members voice their concerns, he said. 

RCMP have said "the plan is fluid" and if it's not working, it can be adapted to the needs of the three communities.

"We're hoping that with discussions with the government and with the head of D Division that they can sort of reoptimize their plans and come up with something a little bit more sensible in terms of policing for Snow Lake," Scott said.

"But that's going to be an ongoing discussion, I'm going to say probably over the next two to three weeks."