BC to invest $230 million over three years in RCMP police funding to ensure safety in rural, remote communities

The money will be used in filling long standing vacancies in rural police detachments, hiring additional officers in specialized unites and allowing regional RCMP units to reach their fully authorized staffing levels of 2,602 officers.
“Staffing up these units will improve public safety by increasing the overall capacity of homicide and missing persons investigations where foul play is suspected, and deterring the causes of motor vehicle fatalities, such as speeding, distracted driving and impairment,” he said.
The funding will ensure adequate and effective levels of policing and law enforcement, particularly in rural, remote and Indigenous communities, and in a wide variety of specialized teams that investigate and prevent complex, violent and organized crimes.
The funding will also provide support to prosecutors and probation officers with respect to violent, high-risk offenders.
Through an investment of $230 million over three years, the Province will tackle key public safety issues, including:
* filling long-standing vacancies in rural police detachments in communities of less than 5,000 people;
* allowing provincially funded regional RCMP units to reach their fully authorized staffing levels of 2,602 officers;
* hiring additional officers in specialized units, such as the major crimes section, the sexual exploitation of children unit, and the BC Highway Patrol. These units serve rural and urban communities throughout the province and can help alleviate some work of municipal police forces, freeing them up to focus on other crime; and
* creating a strong foundation to address anti-money-laundering recommendations from the Cullen Commission.
“This historic commitment to invest in core RCMP police funding is a massive undertaking that took two years to achieve,” said Mike Farnworth, Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General. “Sustained core funding will provide a strong foundation for police resources, enabling the police to focus on violent crimes and other pressing public safety issues, while also actioning the implementation of the Safer Communities Action Plan and other public safety initiatives.”