RCMP leaders say the system undermines their efforts to improve policing in indigenous communities

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RCMP leaders in British Columbia say that developing good working relationships with indigenous communities is a priority for them, but the province’s expansive geography, lack of localized training in cultural awareness, frequent officer turnover and a formula uneven funding has slowed or impeded progress.

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That was the message from RCMP detachment commanders recently to a provincial legislative committee whose job it is to recommend reforms to the 50-year-old British Columbia Police Act.

Over the past year, Canada’s national police force recognized that indigenous peoples are overrepresented in the criminal justice system and said it is seeking to promote reconciliation through more culturally sensitive policing in indigenous communities.

But Sgt. Anthony Fletcher, who leads the RCMP’s Northern Rocky Mountains Detachment, a 97,000-square-kilometer region bordering the Northwest Territories, Yukon and Alberta, testified that policing large and remote areas is a challenge in serving communities. natives.

“To put this in perspective, some of our responses to calls are the equivalent of a police officer in Surrey answering a call in Kelowna.”

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RCMP Superintendent Shaun Wright, who leads the detachment in Prince George, said the existing training in cultural awareness falls short because it is created from the top down.

“Training in indigenous history and cultural awareness at the national or provincial level is insufficient to address the needs of local communities,” Wright said. “I believe that targeted funding should be provided directly to local communities to work with the police to develop specific training for those local communities, based on local history and demographics.”

The fact that inexperienced junior RCMP officers spend two to three years in communities before being transferred to another detachment can also undermine relationship-building, commanders said, although they had difficulty offering alternatives.

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“We are always going to have rotation in those remote communities. That’s just a fact of life, I think, ”Wright said.

Hazelton RCMP Staff Sgt. Darren Durnin told the committee that officers in his detachment are encouraged to participate in community activities when they are not in uniform, noting that trust is not earned if the only time a member of the indigenous community sees a police officer it’s when someone is arrested or a child is arrested.

“One of our newly arrived officials will take on the role of youth hockey coach. Another is considering working with the high school basketball team, ”he said.

But Durnin admits that the application of precautionary measures in the Wet’suwet’en blockades against the Coastal GasLink pipeline undermines relationship-building.

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“I have found it challenging to navigate these events, as my determined actions and those of others involved in the conflict can have a lasting impact on trust and relationships with the police, which is precisely why we work so hard.”

The detachment commanders pointed out the inequities caused by the funding formula that divides the costs of RCMP services among three levels of government. Municipalities with more than 15,000 people pay 90% of the cost, those between 5,000 and 15,000 pay 70% and those under 5,000 pay nothing. Commanders said that by trying to serve all communities equally, larger municipalities often end up subsidizing services to smaller rural and indigenous communities.

In some cases, the federal and provincial governments also pay the indigenous agents dependent on the Indigenous Police Service.

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But the superintendent. Kara Triance, who leads the Kelowna RCMP detachment, told the committee that the police respond to calls based on the resources needed and not who pays for them.

“Indigenous communities do not have the same resources as the contracted municipalities that they limit,” he said. “The disparity puts pressure on our indigenous communities against our contracted municipal partners.”

RCMP Superintendent Davy Lee, who directs law enforcement in the Upper Fraser Valley region from Chilliwack to the Boston Bar, said indigenous communities have little voice in law enforcement operations unless they have agreements with the federal and provincial governments. These agreements include goals, resource levels, and make the police more accountable to indigenous communities.

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Lee said that only eight of the 23 indigenous communities in his region have such agreements.

“Therefore, 62 percent of our indigenous communities within the (detachment area) do not receive improved police services,” he said.

The commanders said they have taken steps to try to compensate for the disparities by creating programs and services with local indigenous communities, but admit that the work is being done “outside our desks.”

Green Party MLA and committee member Adam Olsen said it is crucial to listen to RCMP officers who know what their communities need to improve their policing services and the barriers they face in doing so.

“It is important that our recommendations are supportive and based on your experiences,” he said.

The all-party special committee has heard from hundreds of experts, police officers and members of the public since it was created in July 2020. Its final report is due by the end of April.

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