Whereas the Trans-Canada Highway 1, from the Alberta British Columbia provincial border through Revelstoke has surpassed its capacity due to increasing tourism and commercial transportation, resulting in frequent collisions, and the transportation route closures impeding commerce in the area; And whereas there has been little or no increase in provincial police resourcing for communities along the Trans-Canada Highway to effectively reduce speeds beyond posted limits and ultimately improve road safety by reducing collisions: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM ask the Province to increase funding for additional front line provincial police officers to address population growth and meet immediate and projected service needs across British Columbia.
Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General The Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General has heard the concerns from local governments and is aware of the pressures on front-line provincial policing in ruralunincorporated areas and small municipalities. In 2019, the Province provided new, additional funds to the RCMP to augment front-line, general duty policing at the highest needs, highest risk Provincial Detachment Units. This initiative also created the Provincial Support Team PST to provide temporary, mobile relief to Provincial Detachment Units experiencing front-line resource pressures such as those resulting from vacancies, emergent incidents, or events. It is the Provinces expectation that RCMP Detachment Commanders consult with local governments in setting the policing priorities for their communities, including traffic enforcement. The Ministry also continues to work with the RCMP, and internally to government, to address resource pressures across all areas of provincial policing responsibility in the province. It is important to know that the RCMP Provincial Service also maintains provincial traffic services and highway patrol resources across the province, providing specialized traffic enforcement and collision investigation services throughout provincial policing areas in BC. In addition, the Province provides on average 35 million annually in additional funding to police in BC in support of enhanced traffic enforcement delivered through Integrated Road Safety Units and other enhanced enforcement initiatives, such as CounterAttack, a long-standing seasonal traffic enforcement initiative that targets impaired drivers through dedicated police resources and overtime funding to police. These resources and initiatives provide valuable and enhanced enforcement in rural areas.