Local residents contacting Burnaby RCMP to report a stolen car or fraud under $5,000 will soon be directed to an “information officer” instead of a regular Mountie.
The local detachment is piloting a new approach that will see a “pre-identified list of call types” diverted to information officers in order to free up regular police officers for faster emergency response times, proactive patrols and more thorough investigations, according to a report by Chief Supt. Deanne Burleigh.
City council approved the pilot Monday.
Burnaby RCMP will start by hiring four new information officers and swearing them in as special constables.
Their job will be to respond to certain kinds of traffic complaints, thefts from vehicles, auto thefts, bicycle thefts, found property, mischief, fraud under $5,000, and hit-and-run collisions where there are no suspects, injuries, witnesses or evidence at the scene.
Regular uniformed police officers currently respond to nearly all those calls, regardless of the possibility of criminal charges, according to the report.
Burleigh says that’s not efficient – or sustainable.
“Unless the current service delivery model is updated, the effectiveness and efficiency of the Burnaby RCMP may suffer and the ability to provide appropriate service to the public will erode,” states her report.
Burnaby RCMP estimates the new approach will divert between 15 and 20 per cent of all calls away from regular officers.
“This alternate service delivery model would continue to provide excellent public service for non-chargeable reports to police while at the same time giving front-line members more time to engage in proactive work, to conduct more in depth investigations and to be visible in the community,” states Burleigh’s report.
Just because information officers will be taking on calls, however, doesn’t mean those cases won’t be passed on to regular officers if there is an “investigative avenue” to pursue that might lead to charges.
For citizens calling about minor matters, the new approach should also have the benefit of a quicker response from Burnaby RCMP – albeit from an information officer, not a Mountie.
“It’s anticipated that the level of frustration from the complainants and the anger will actually be lessened because, right off the bat, they actually will be contacted by an information officer,” public safety director Dave Critchley told council Monday.
Burnaby RCMP will pay for the four information officers out of its own budget this year, he said.
Moving forward, funding for the new employees would become a part of the regular budget process.
