Greater Moncton area should keep RCMP policing model: study

A report from a consulting firm recommends the Greater Moncton area in New Brunswick should continue to use the current Codiac Regional RCMP policing model.

Details of the Moncton Dieppe Riverview public safety services study provided by Perivale and Taylor Consulting were presented at a public information session Thursday morning at Moncton City Hall.

The firm made several recommendations based on consultations with the Codiac Regional Policing Authority (CRPA) and council members of the three municipalities.

The purpose of the report was to determine if a contracted RCMP service, a regional police force, or a combination of the two, would be best suited for the area.

The firm estimates the cost of transitioning to a municipal policing service would be more than $73 million, including a five-year transition period and eight years of municipal policing operations that would cost more per year than the current RCMP service would.

Riverview Mayor Andrew LeBlanc said there are some great recommendations that came out of the report.

“I think the study was really important for us, because we obviously want to get a handle on what's the best model to provide policing services for the people in the tri-community. So I think there's some great recommendations that came out of it. They are recommending to keep the Codiac RCMP, but that doesn't mean we're not still without challenges that need to be addressed," said LeBlanc.

Other recommendations included, the three communities should request the CRPA make RCMP annual police workload analyses a priority of Codiac's police service agreement and staffing decisions should be based on business cases from those workload analyses.

LeBlanc said he looks forward to tackling some of the recommendations, such as governance issues and creating accountability with reporting from the CRPA and from the RCMP.

"I think we're going to be able to make a lot of progress and build on the growth we've seen," said LeBlanc.

The mayor also complimented Codiac superintendent Benoit Jolette, who he said has done a lot of work to increase transparency and communication with the local councils.

"They're a lot more response to us, to resident issues. So this report gives us a great launching point to building on some of the growth and successes we've seen with our policing over the last year or so," said LeBlanc.

The CRPA released a statement following the firm's presentation acknowledging the importance of conducting periodic reviews of police services by the municipalities.

"This process ensures trust and quality of service is maintained in the police services provided. We will review the results of the study, and commit to taking necessary steps towards implementing said recommendations," read the statement from the CRPA.

The Codiac Regional RCMP has been serving the tri-community area since 1998.

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