It’s been speculated that the appointment of Surrey-Guildford MLA Garry Begg as solicitor general could mean David Eby’s new government is leaning toward the creation of a provincial police force.
In 2022, Begg was a member of a 10-person all-party committee of MLAs that recommended far-reaching changes to policing, including creation of a provincial force.
The report argued that replacing RCMP units with a provincial force would increase local accountability and responsiveness. Ontario and Quebec have chosen this route.
There is no question that police reforms are desperately needed.
Just last month, the West Shore RCMP detachment decided to opt out of regional policing without informing Langford council.
The ongoing disputes between Victoria and Esquimalt over funding and staffing for their joint municipal force is further evidence of the need for change. Indeed, the existence of four separate, uncoordinated municipal forces in Greater Victoria is all the proof needed that reforms are long overdue.
So, too, was the long dragged-out investigation of 91原创 serial killer Robert Pickton, caused by the failure of the several police forces in the region to share information.
After a six-year rampage, Pickton was finally convicted of killing six women, but might have murdered as many as 49.
So yes, reforms are definitely called for.
But is the creation of a provincial police force the answer? As noted, Ontario has such a system, yet that province still retains a total of 56 separate, independent municipal and aboriginal forces. The RCMP also retain 11 detachments across the province.
One consequence of this massively overlaid bureaucracy became clear during the January 2022 truckers’ protest in Ottawa. Hundreds of vehicles, many blasting loud horns far into the night, blocked downtown streets for several weeks as the police stood by and did nothing.
The reasons were clear. The Ottawa municipal force, the Ontario provincial force and the RCMP visibly failed to co-ordinate efforts.
Eventually, when the matter was completely out of hand, the federal government invoked the Emergency Measures Act. This was far more heavy-handed than the required answer — knocking together the heads of various police commissioners.
So no, the creation of a provincial police force in B.C. is far from a guaranteed solution to the confused system we already have.
There are 13 municipal and aboriginal forces across our province. There are also 127 RCMP detachments, mostly in rural regions. So far as the experience in Ontario is a guide, adding a provincial force won’t displace or absorb any of those.
It will simply add another layer on top of an existing system of jealously guarded fiefdoms.
A more efficient solution would be, first, to merge municipal forces in close proximity to one another.
Thus merge the Victoria/Esquimalt, Oak Bay, Saanich and Central Saanich forces.
Likewise bring together under one roof the Delta, Surrey, 91原创, West 91原创, New Westminster, Abbotsford and Port Moody police forces.
This would open the way for significant administrative savings. More important, there would be genuine sharing of information on a community-wide basis. The Pickton fiasco could not have occurred under such a centralized system.
Then retain the rural RCMP detachments. It would be a huge logistical problem to replace all 127 with provincial police forces.
Moreover, the RCMP have responsibility for enforcing federal legislation and investigating cross-border crime. These duties will still have to be performed, even if a provincial force is adopted.
It will take resolution by the government to force through amalgamation of municipal forces. On the other hand, Eby’s administration has just been elected to a four-year term.
That should be more than long enough to put an end to the balkanization that currently afflicts our municipal police services.
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