(File photo/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Angela Brown

Town council highlights

More RCMP recruits needed to meet staffing shortage

Nov 9, 2022 | 2:56 PM

If anyone is thinking of a new or second career and is interested in joining the RCMP, this might be a good time to sign up.

During Monday’s Town of Battleford council meeting, Mayor Ames Leslie said he spent a week in Regina recently, meeting with some provincial ministers. One of the main issues discussed was how to get a higher representation of law enforcement police in the community to address some of the crimes occurring in the area.

“The RCMP are well aware,” Leslie said. “We have some more meetings coming up.”

Leslie said he was advised the RCMP are facing some staffing shortages.

“They are definitely looking to change that,” he said.

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Leslie said the RCMP normally see about 1,500 to 1,600 candidates go through the RCMP Depot Division police training program in Regina each year. But the RCMP are struggling to get even 300 candidates for this year.

“So, the backfill of [police] members is getting tough,” he said. “If anybody wants to join the RCMP, definitely now may be the time.”

Leslie said even people who are in their 40s and 50s are joining the RCMP now, as a new career heading into their retirement years.

“It is actually not a strange thing. It is something that is happening,” Leslie said. “So, if you ever wanted to be a police officer, we need you, and now is a good time to maybe get into that.”

Battlefords RCMP Sgt. Neil Tremblay confirmed in an email to battlefordsNOW that staffing shortages are an issue for the RCMP now, both locally, and overall across the province.

Citizens on Patrol Program

Also during Monday’s meeting, Leslie noted that the Battlefords Citizens on Patrol Program (COPP) group is still looking for new members. The volunteer members conduct patrols in the Town of Battleford as well as the City of North Battleford and report any suspicious activity they notice.

“If you have an evening free and want to give back, or even during the day, the Citizens on Patrol needs people …,” Leslie said. “So, get hold of the Town or Citizens on Patrol and we can get you out there to help break down some of this [criminal] element.”

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angela.brown@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @battlefordsNOW