Moncton council questions whether city actually needs more Mounties

Moncton councillors are critical of a request to add four more Codiac RCMP officers next year without evidence whether five added this year made a difference.

"Did we get our money's worth?" Coun. Daniel Bourgeois asked Tuesday.

"Because if it hasn't made a difference to have additional members, why would we not try and save a little bit of money for taxpayers?"

Bourgeois posed the question as council debated the city's $212-million operating budget for 2024 and amid ongoing discussions about whether to keep the RCMP or move to a municipal force. 

Moncton covers more than two thirds of the Codiac Regional Policing Authority budget.

The authority's proposed 2024 budget is $46.7 million, up by $3.9 million from this year. It is seeking four more officers, to bring the force to 156, and three more civilian staff. 

Council was told some of the data sought would be made public at a policing authority board meeting Thursday evening. But, that's hours after Moncton is scheduled to approve its budget.

Bourgeois said it's a lot of money and he would have expected to see data before being asked to approve another increase.

"So we have to go by people's perceptions. My perception, for example, based on what citizens tell me and I'm seeing, it doesn't make a big difference," he said.

Bourgeois made the comments as part of an exchange with Charles Savoie, Moncton's interim general manager of protective services, who said the five officers added this year effectively meant only one more person per shift. 

"If you think of the effect on the resolution rate, it might not be as high as expected," Savoie said, referring to the number of crimes officers solve. 

Savoie also said the police are busy. 

"If there's an issue, people turn to them," Savoie said. "Are they the best people to call? Well, that's not a question because right now they're the only option. They're the only people to call."

Other councillors also questioned the lack of data. 

"I had the same concerns I guess related to adding more police officers and then not really having anything concrete to indicate where we are and if we're really making a difference," Coun. Charles Léger, who previously chaired the policing authority board, said. 

"At this stage, this is just a wild goose chase right now," Deputy Mayor Shawn Crossman said. "We don't know where this is going to end up. We don't know a true outcome of adding police officers to making Moncton feel safe."

Codiac RCMP polices Moncton, Dieppe and Riverview. Moncton covers 70 per cent of the policing authority budget, while Dieppe pays 18.5 per cent and Riverview covers the remainder. 

Riverview councillors questioned whether they had enough information as they considered the town's budget last week.

"Our concern is that they're asking for increases without adequately justifying where that increase will go and the impact of our current investment," Riverview Mayor Andrew LeBlanc said on Facebook about the town's deliberations. 

"We agreed that the policing services have shown notable improvement, but the [Codiac Regional Policing Authority] needs to provide better outcome measurement."

Riverview ultimately agreed to proceed, but with a condition that it will withhold releasing the extra money if the policing authority doesn't present the information it wants by the end of January. 

"We are prepared to withhold funding," LeBlanc wrote.

In Moncton this week, councillors also questioned the changing number of officers the policing authority says are needed. 

Last year, it released a strategic plan calling for 25 more officers this year. The authority said it needed the officers to make the Codiac RCMP an adequate police force.

But then it reduced the request to five for 2023, followed by 10 more in 2024 and 2025. However, that changed again by this fall to four officers next year.

Coun. Bryan Butler pressed policing authority vice-chair Nagesh Jammula whether four would make the police force adequate. 

"No," Jammula said, telling councillors that now the Codiac RCMP will prepare an operational plan that will look at how many officers are required. In the meantime, Jammula said four more are needed to keep up with population growth. 

Other councillors went on to voice disappointment with the governance of the policing authority, which is led by a volunteer board.

Mayor Dawn Arnold said the policing authority needs an executive director. 

"I really feel strongly that you need help," Arnold said. 

Paid board positions and a staff position were recommended as part of a policing study released last month.

The discussion led to a motion, which will be considered Thursday prior to final budget approval, to increase the policing authority budget to hire a staff member.