The cost to maintain local police force cost more as well. Currently Ottawa(federal government) pays 10% of policing for Surrey Rcmp.
Also the average salary of Vancouver police or any municipal police force is a lot higher than Rcmp.
Given the same budget, there will be less officers on the force if switch from Rcmp to Surrey police.
Vancouver Police Constable pay after 4 years. $100,220 (Same as an RCMP Sergeant, which is 2 ranks higher)
Delta Police Constable pay after 4 years. $101,733 ($116,992 for a 20 year Constable, and the same as a first year RCMP Inspector, which is a Commissioned Officer and 4 ranks higher)
RCMP Constable pay after 4 years. $86,110
So for a force of say 600 officers, you'll be paying almost $8.5 million a year more, assuming not a single one works any overtime or statutory holidays and that they're all Constables. Someone should remember that the Federal government pays a lower overtime rate than the municipal forces.
As someone else pointed out, the Feds also pick up 10% of the policing cost. Don't forget that RCMP spends less to equip an officer than VPD or Delta in the order of about $5,000 per street officer because the RCMP pools items and shares them between officers, or just doesn't equip them, while municipal forces have the equipment as individual issue.
Well, that's the real reason then: cost - some of it borne by Ottawa.
What you’re describing is a BC version of the OPP and SQ in Ontario and Quebec. It’s been a while since a made in BC solution has been put forward. It has a lot of merits and it takes control of the cross jurisdictions between the municipalities in the GVRD.
I can’t recall the last time it was brought up with the BC Govt and can only assume it didn’t get any traction because of cost and the respective city councils ‘losing control’ of their law enforcement.
I think it’s a good possible solution to replacing the RCMP. Ontario and Quebec have made it work for decades.
Perhaps change is inevitable.
Provincial forces for rural areas; municipal or regional forces for cities; and the RCMP becomes a national force dealing only with the high level & nationwide stuff (more akin to the Carabinieri, German federal police, or FBI).
It's like an idea that's just sitting around waiting for some politician or party to actually champion it. (They're too busy with petty smear campaigns I guess.)





