Cumberland Begins Police Services Review
Cumberland is opening a review of policing services, looking for any and all alternatives to compare with the current RCMP service.
Four public meetings will be held to gauge what the community expects from its police.
The meetings will be held:
- Sept. 8 at the Parrsboro Fire Department
- Sept. 15 at the Springhill Community Centre
- Sept. 19 at the Pugwash Fire Hall
- Sept. 26 at the Upper Nappan Service Centre
All meetings are set for 4 to 6 pm.
Narrative Research of Halifax will lead the public engagement. It will also include an online survey, a dedicated page on the municipal website, as well as stakeholder meetings, media releases, social media, print and radio advertising.
Mayor Murray Scott says, “We’re really encouraging people to talk to us about what their expectations are for policing in their communities.”
Scott says they also want to hear what residents have to say about the policing services they want, how visible they expect police to be in their communities, what level of community involvement they expect from police, and what are their expectations regarding response times.
The research company will compile the results and a committee of council will explore the options.
One of the options could be a request for proposals to provide a new policing services contract. That could be from the RCMP or a completely new provider.
Scott said, “The review is not about money, although the policing budget is continuing to climb.”
The mayor added, “People have concerns about visibility and response times. Other councillors have had those same comments, phone calls and emails.”
Scott says, “This is not about criticizing the RCMP, but it’s prudent for council, amid these concerns, to go through this process and hear what the community has to say about the level of service they’re receiving.”
In 2021-22 the municipality paid just over $4.7 million for policing. The budget this fiscal year is $5.17 million.
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