Cape Breton Regional Police hope to renew Membertou policing deal
Officers are still needed even though crime rate is down more than 20 per cent, police chief says
Cape Breton Regional Police are expecting to renew a five-year policing agreement with Membertou First Nation.
Officials from the federal and provincial governments, the band and police are expected to meet Friday to discuss a proposed deal.
If approved, the governments will pay police about $1.1 million a year for five years.
Membertou will get six dedicated officers, plus access to the rest of the department's resources. In return, the First Nation will provide suitable space.
C.B. police beat RCMP in contract bid
Membertou officials declined comment until after Friday's meeting.
Police Chief Peter McIsaac said the Cape Breton police service beat out the RCMP last year in a bid competition for the policing contract.
However, federal funding for one officer remained up in the air, so the contract was only renewed for one year.
McIsaac said all sides should be able to reach a new five-year deal later this week.
We're meeting on March 1 with the federal government, the Aboriginal policing folks, the province, the folks at Membertou and ourselves, and hopefully we can get this thing done.- Police chief Peter McIsaac
"We're at it again this year ... to figure out the funding formula going forward and the resources required to do it," he said.
"So we're meeting on March 1 with the federal government, the Aboriginal policing folks, the province, the folks at Membertou and ourselves, and hopefully we can get this thing done."
Cape Breton police have served Membertou for more than 10 years.
McIsaac said crime in CBRM is down about 20 per cent over the last five years, and it's down about 22 per cent in Membertou over the same period.
Even though crime is down, police are still needed, he said.
The agency has become the first one called when people want needles picked up in the community, or when they need help with mental health and other social issues.
"Only about 20 to 30 per cent of what a police organization does is actually captured in a crime stat," McIsaac said.
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