RCMP plan to create new model known as Cypress region draws initial concern
By COLLIN GALLANT on January 15, 2020.
cgallant@medicinehatnews.com
The RCMP is proposing to remodel how it polices southwest Saskatchewan.
A series of community meetings this week throughout the area from Leader to Shaunavon and east to Gravelbourg will lay out the potential to create a hub in Swift Current known as the Cypress region.
The force and MNP consultants are reviewing deployment models they say will provide more balanced staffing levels, and help retain officers who work in rural outposts.
However, elected officials in the region say they are worried the plan could result in the loss of local administrator positions while community policing might suffer as officers rotate in and out.
“To me, it doesn’t make sense,” said Shaunavon Mayor Grant Greenslade, who hosted a meeting in the town on Monday night and says he’s still unclear about the plan.
“It all comes down to response times. Some residents are already waiting an hour, and does that become two? We’re already doing a lot with less.”
Meetings are also set to take place Tuesday in Leader and Wednesday in Maple Creek.
A release from F Division states that effort would not result in detachment closures, but could see staff redistributed based on “more flexible” and “scalable” deployment models based to help attract employees.
It states the current study will involve cost-benefit models, be based on sound police operations and develop a phased implementation plan.
It seems to suggest the force would allow officers to use the City of Swift Current as a home base, while they worked in outlying communities from the Alberta boundary to central Saskatchewan.
Greenslade said wages could be a bigger culprit, rather than rural life. He cited recent successes of municipalities in finding health care workers and doctors.
“That sounds like an RCMP problem, not a Town of Shaunavon problem,” he said. “And if they are having a problem with recruitment, why not come to us sooner?”
The Cypress policing region would span an area from near Moose Jaw to the Alberta boundary.
Residents of Shaunavon, Eastend, Frontier and six adjoining rural municipalities were invited to attend Monday’s meeting at the Wickenheiser Centre.
Local detachments will host meetings in Maple Creek, at the Armoury, and Swift Current on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.
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