Mayors eye CSOs to bolster RCMP

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This article was published 30/01/2025 (310 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A shortage of police officers in rural Westman has convinced leaders in several communities they should hire safety officers to support local RCMP.

Leaders from Souris and Carberry told the Sun in January they are looking in the coming months at hiring community safety officers, (CSOs), who are trained but not official police officers. The goal is to offload minor work from the RCMP and increase the visibility of law enforcement, as it’s believed they don’t have enough police presence in their communities.

The interest from mayors in the Westman towns of Carberry and Souris comes after business owners in a separate Manitoba community shared positive reviews about the safety officer program.

Carberry Mayor Ray Muirhead said response times are important in his town.

“We don’t have enough bodies to maintain any kind of steady presence, per say,” Muirhead in January of RCMP officers. “If something happens in Carberry and you need the police like right now, there’s a good chance that the police you need could be patrolling main street Souris (which is an hour away).”

Muirhead said the community had issues in the past where it needed RCMP but the officers were out of town. He emphasized that it is not the fault of the officers, but said Carberry needs to think of adding more safety staff to the community.

“If you know somebody is around, and you can call that person and they’re not that far away, then it should be a win-win,” Muirhead said. He added that visibility would benefit Carberry, saying, “If you have that driving through your town, just knowing that the presence is there would deter crime.”

Carberry is policed by an out-of-town detachment called Blue Hills RCMP, which has roughly 14 officers to cover a rural area of 2,200 square-miles including Souris, Carberry and Rivers. Muirhead pointed out that the area for these officers is about the size of Prince Edward Island.

With such a vast area, it can be hard for RCMP to be in the right place at the right time, he said.

The concern is broadly felt across many communities in Westman. Virden Mayor Tina Williams expressed the same concern. She told the Sun that the community also does not have enough RCMP, which she said is true in many other areas.

The concern of local leaders comes in part from RCMP changing the strategy of how it deploys officers over the past 20 years.

In a 2024 interview with the Sun, National Police Federation prairie director Bobby Baker said Manitoba RCMP has switched from small detachments to hubs. The change means that officers gather in teams central to an area and police nearby small communities, rather than being split into those communities and working on small units within.

The changes have led many residents to worry that police presence disappears, RCMP media relations officer Sgt. Paul Manaigre told the Sun at the time. He disagreed with the premise and said police are still nearby through hubs, even if their previous small detachments close.

“ If you know somebody is around, and you can call that person and they’re not that far away, then it should be a win-win.– Carberry Mayor Ray Muirhead

Going into 2025, leaders from several communities, including Souris and Carberry see a lack of police presence as a top-of-mind issue. In individual interviews with the Sun, the mayors of Souris and Carberry said they are looking at CSOs in the coming months as a way to supplement policing.

The mayors both said they respect the work done by the RCMP, but feel their communities need extra support. Souris Mayor Duane Davison told the Sun he heard great things from business owners in Portage La Prairie, saying the community was thrilled about adding safety officers.

In an emailed statement to the Sun in January, Adrienne Mekkes, CEO of a hair salon in Portage, said the program has made a big difference, particularly for her staff.

“The addition of community safety officers by the City of Portage la Prairie has had a tremendously positive impact on my business, Styled With Meraki,” Mekkes said. “With a younger staff comprised mostly of women, the officers have brought an invaluable sense of security to our workplace. Knowing there is someone to call who can respond quickly to smaller issues has given us all greater confidence and peace of mind while at work.

“The officers’ community walks have also made a noticeable difference for our customers, who feel safer in our parking lot and surrounding area. This added presence has created a more secure and welcoming environment, benefiting both our staff and clients.”

Souris Mayor Duane Davison said he has heard similar reviews in his private conversations, as business owners in Portage have been “really excited” about the program.

When it comes to applying safety officers in Souris, Davison said one method could be to hire CSOs to offload some less demanding work from the RCMP.

“This takes a lot of the, quotation marks ‘mundane stuff’ off the RCMP plate,” Davison said. “Not that any of it is mundane, but, like I said, traffic enforcement, that kind of stuff.”

Community safety officers are empowered by the province in some areas, such as to direct traffic, pull-over a vehicle, request a driver provide a licence and take intoxicated people into custody. They can carry handcuffs, a baton and an aerosol weapon like pepper spray.

When it comes to other benefits, the Souris mayor emphasized CSOs can act as sentinels for the RCMP. A case study he and others reviewed from Saskatchewan showed safety officers being watchdogs.

“They’re out and about, and they act as eyes and ears for the RCMP,” said Davison. “They’ve been working closely with the RCMP in that small community, so we expect that would happen here as well.”

He said the RCMP can’t always be nearby, so it helps to have trusted safety officers who can relay information. Souris would also be the boss of CSOs, so town officials could direct their work more than they could members of the regional RCMP detachment.

At the end of the day however, the Souris mayor was most concerned about visibility. Davison said adding safety officers would provide intangible value to the community beyond measurements such as tickets and traffic enforcement.

“The presence (of RCMP officers) isn’t what it used to be, and it’s the same in every community in Manitoba quite frankly,” Davison said. “Presence is everything.”

» cmcdowell@brandonsun.com