RCMP detachments struggling with low staffing. (File Photo/northeastNOW Staff)

By Doug Lett

RCMP low staffing

RCMP face staffing shortages in Melfort and Tisdale

Nov 16, 2022 | 10:00 AM

The senior RCMP commander for the Melfort region told city councillors on Monday that understaffing is a big problem for the force.

RCMP Staff Sergeant Darren Simons said the Melfort and Tisdale detachments are operating at just over half their full strength. And he warned it’s not likely to improve any time soon.

“Melfort and Tisdale, we just went over 50 per cent strength,” he said. “We’re slowly increasing that now, getting up to a little more comfortable level, but it’s the same situation at any detachment of the RCMP or any police force in the country, we’re all short.”

“We are maintaining operational needs of the detachment,” he added, but noted officers are not as proactive as they would like to be.

His words hit home for many of the councillors, who listened intently and asked a variety of questions.

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“It’s scary it’s frightening,” said councillor April Phillips after the meeting. “I feel for them. There’s a lot of stress on those members.”

The National Police Federation, the union that represents RCMP, agrees staffing is a problem.

“Recruiting is a crisis facing all police services across Canada,” the NPF said in a statement. “The NPF has been asking the Government of Canada and provincial governments – including Saskatchewan – to increase funding for more RCMP Members to help keep communities safe all across the province.”

Simons told councillors one of their biggest challenges is the amount of time taken up dealing with addictions, and mental wellness problems.

“The drugs, the addiction with methamphetamine, its a beast,” he told councillors.

“If it wasn’t for addictions and mental wellness, I think we could easily deal with everything, but I think those two issues, it’s a societal issue and we have to deal with mental wellness better and we have to deal with addictions better,” he said.

He said even drug dealers know how bad it can be, pointing to a case of two rival gangs fighting over meth.

“There’s two different gangs selling drugs, and the one won’t sell meth to their family so they’re fighting with the other gang that does because they know how addictive meth is,” he said.

Phillips believes understaffing is a problem that goes way beyond the power of local governments to fix.

“We need help from our senior governments to fix this, it’s not something that municipalities can do on their own,” she said.

Another wrinkle for Saskatchewan may be the new Marshals Service announced in the throne speech. The NPF is worried it may add to the problem.

“While we welcome the Government of Saskatchewan’s commitment to public safety, their most recent announcement in the Throne Speech about investing in a new provincial Marshals Service takes away much-needed funding and resources away from our Members, whose territory covers practically the entire province,” said the NPF statement.

Simons said part of the recruitment problem may be the amount of criticism directed at police, especially on social media.

“There’s a lot of criticism of how we do our jobs…so a lot of people say why would I get into a career where I’m going to be criticized all the time for what I do?” he said.

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doug.lett@pattisonmedia.com