Work shortage cause of decreased police communications in N.B.
After a period of releasing daily reports outlining police activity, RCMP communications have slowed down in the city.
The daily reports were initiated when the detachment had a different structure, according to Insp. John Sutherland of the North Battleford RCMP. Now, the member who would be in charge of those reports is on leave and Sutherland said the unit doesn’t have the capacity to backfill positions.
He said he’s looking at realigning some positions, but moving a member into an administrative position to handle communications would take them out of a general duty role. He said he thinks the community wants to hear more from police and is trying to find a solution.
“The public has the right to know and should know what’s happening with policing and what’s going on in their community, and what police are doing to respond to issues,” he said. “We always try and find the balance and the responsible reporting, to make sure that people do know what’s going on and yet not make it seem like the town is ridden with crime.”