Canadian government considers police increase in small communities like Tumbler Ridge | Globalnews.ca
The federal government is considering increasing the police presence in Tumbler Ridge following the deadly mass school shooting earlier this month.
“We are pushing for more police resources in all of British Columbia and across Canada,” Staff Sgt. Jeff Swann, Pacific director for the National Police Federation, told Global News.
“The resourcing issue is huge. Years and years and years, governments have slashed police budgets and not hired more officers. And that’s the dilemma that we’re facing right now.”
The small community of Tumbler Ridge has five RCMP officers stationed there.
On Feb. 10, Jesse VanRootselaar shot and killed eight people — her mother and half-brother at her house and five students and an education assistant at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School.
“I need to be very clear, the resourcing issue in Tumbler Ridge did not cause or lead to any problems in Tumbler Ridge,” Swann said.
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“What happened was that on that day, there were two officers working and they responded as heroes to that school. With less than 120 seconds, they were in that school stopping that shooting. So the resourcing issue is countrywide.”
Unit commander Sgt. Bill Hughes, a 21-year RCMP veteran, and Const. Nick Gachter, who has five years of service, were the first officers on scene in Tumbler Ridge on Feb. 10.
Const. Jonathan Kohut, who has served for eight years, and Const. Tyler Noon, an 11-year veteran of the force, suited up as quickly as possible and rushed to the school to assist.
RCMP officers from neighbouring communities also raced to help.
“That’s part of the message is that they are heroes and what they did was incredibly brave,” Swann said.
“And we trust our police officers to do those actions day in and day out across this country.”
He added that he hopes this discussion can lead to better resources for other small detachments.
“Since 2012, the population in British Columbia alone has increased by 25 per cent, yet our policing numbers haven’t increased at all,” Swann said.
“Policing is a big budget item. We get that. But it’s such an important part of society and you know, we need to increase those numbers to safely and effectively police this country.”
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