'We need action': McAdam residents call out N.B. RCMP in public meeting on crime

MCADAM, N.B. -

About 300 residents from the area of McAdam, N.B., attended a public meeting at the village high school Monday evening, hoping to learn how the RCMP was going to make them feel safer in their own homes.

The meeting was sparked by public outrage after “years” of what they say is slow or non-existent response times, and a lack of patrolling in the community. 

The RCMP's superintendent for the west district, Andy LeClair, began the meeting saying he recognizes “public safety is near and dear to this community and you’re willing to stand up and tell us your concerns…and we want to hear your issues.”

The meeting was heated at times, with some residents yelling “citizens are getting hurt because you guys aren’t doing your job.”

Others asked how far they could go in defending themselves because, they say, they don’t trust that the RCMP will show up when called.

One of the biggest issues, according to RCMP Assistant Commissioner DeAnna Hill, is resources. She says recruitment has been difficult across the country and New Brunswick isn’t immune. In over two decades of her career, Hill says she has never seen the staffing situation this bad.

Local business owner Don Doherty stood to share one of his recent experiences. He told the room he was an eye witness to a theft.

“I had the supervisor come to my house, I talked to him for the better of two to three hours… He said he’d get back to me and he never did,” Doherty said. 

Doherty told the panel he was willing to go to court to relay what he’d seen. But there was no follow-up.

“We’re here because we need action,” he said.

“That’s not the level of service that meets my expectation either…I can tell you the bane of my existence is police officers not returning phone calls,” Leclair said. 

Doherty criticized the officers' knowledge of the area, and reminded them that McAdam’s response area “does not include St. Stephen.”

Doherty received applause.

Hill later said the RCMP share resources among a region, and police have to prioritize calls for service, in accordance with the public’s immediate safety. 

She did acknowledge that where RCMP “fail often times” is keeping in communication with community members. She said it has come up before with other communities and they are looking into it, aiming to improve. 

Another resident asked why no one responded when her 95-year-old family member’s vehicle was stolen. 

Leclair said “something went off the rails” with that call, and he was going to look into it. 

Hill said the meeting was about “coming and listening.” She said she is trying to assess the issues across the province and learn what needs to be improved.

Bill Hogan, New Brunswick’s public safety minister, says his department is working with the RCMP on some options. He says it’s not only McAdam residents who have expressed issues with police coverage.

RCMP SAY THEY’LL TAKE FRUSTRATIONS BACK TO HEADQUARTERS

Hill said after Monday evening’s meeting that she understands the frustration McAdam residents are feeling and that she’s assessing the situation across the province hoping to find solutions once she’s been on the job a little longer.

“They definitely deserve to have police officers respond to calls, there's no doubt about that. Visibility is something we strive to accommodate. Officers are going from call to call to call, that's just the simple fact,” she said.

She elaborated on the staffing shortages facing RCMP detachments across the country.

“We're having trouble with retirements and just natural things that happen through attrition. We're having trouble getting people through the door,” she said.

Hogan said his department is working with the RCMP on options. CTV Atlantic asked if that could mean some communities move to different policing model.

“We are going to talk to some communities about maybe more regional policing, as we move forward with municipal reform, so that’s on the table. There’s no timeline for that,” he said.

Hogan did say his department is working on a marketing campaign, educating people on how they can better protect their property from theft or break and enters.

Despite those comments, the frustrations remained high throughout the crowd of people Monday.

“My grandmother, 90-year-old grandmother lives alone,” asked one resident. “If she calls me in the middle of the night and someone's breaking into her house, how much lethal force can I use to stop that? If she calls me, what can I do? Because I know you guys aren't coming!”

LeClair told the crowd they’re allowed to use “reasonable force” to protect themselves, but urged against taking the law in their own hands.