Castlegar RCMP are hoping to finally have a full complement of officers as early as this summer.
Sgt. Monty Taylor told city council this week that the local detachment is down to 14 of the 17 officers they are funded for following the transfer of one constable to Prince George. Another constable is also transferring elsewhere, which will leave 13 officers, but two more constables are on the way from the Lower Mainland once their houses sell. There are also some vacancies to be filled.
“So we’re heading in the right direction, but we’re just in a little bit of a lull right now,” Taylor said.
Taylor said there are people who want to come to Castlegar, but their ability to do so depends on the operational pressures at the detachments where they currently work.
Councillor Cherryl MacLeod asked what RCMP policy is when homes don’t sell quickly.
Taylor explained officers have 90 days to sell and then have to request an extension, which detachment commanders can approve or deny. Taylor said normally 60-day or 30-day extensions are granted, and then each further 30-day extension requires another request.
Taylor said the RCMP are no longer in the business of buying homes due to the costs involved, but temporary dual residency is allowed, where the RCMP or municipality pays for an officer’s accommodations at their new location for up to a year while the officer continues to pay the mortgage on their former home. However, he said that arrangement usually occurs at small detachments where there is greater urgency to fill a vacancy.
Asked how soon he expected the detachment to be at full strength, Taylor replied: “If you find that magic wand, pass it on. Sometime in the summertime would be nice.”
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