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(JOHN MCDONALD / iNFOnews.ca)
March 12, 2022 - 6:00 AM
Kamloops RCMP have fewer members per capita than other B.C. cities of similar size, so it's asking the City for funding to hire more.
The detachment is currently funded for 136 members, which brings Kamloops to 713 people per officer in the city, according to a report to city council from Kamloops RCMP.
Kelowna, which has 45,000 more people than Kamloops, is approved for 214 officers. That means there are 683 people per officer in the city of 146,000.
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The union that represents RCMP members recently approved a pay raise for its officers, forcing Kamloops to increase its policing budget with the staff already available.
The City had been putting away money for years before the union came to a collective agreement for its members across Canada, but City staff said it wasn't enough to match the approved raise.
For its size, Kamloops can be closely compared to Nanaimo, which both have 101,000 residents within RCMP jurisdictions, according to the report.
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Nanaimo, however, is authorized for 148 officers compared to 136 in Kamloops.
The report will come to council on Tuesday, March 15, when Supt. Syd Lecky will present the detachment's requirements for the next five years.
In the report, the Kamloops detachment aims to steadily increase its officers to 154 by 2027, with the potential for the first tax increase to come in next year's budget.
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