The Yorkton Municipal RCMP will continue to receive a grant for community policing. The city will receive $330,000 to fund three police officers in the city through the program, part of a province-wide initiative to combat crime in the province.
In Yorkton, those officers will be sent where needed. The funding has increased in the city since the program began, when it was funding one officer for $90,000. The number of officers increased to three, while the funding for each officer also increased by roughly ten per cent since.
“We feel it’s a pretty good investment to help municipalities with their policing costs, and help with quality of life through more security and policing in these communities,” said Yorkton MLA Greg Ottenbreit.
The policing grants are across the province, and Ottenbreit believes they have been effective where they have been implemented.
“It depends on the communities, give them flexibility with specific police departments, identify what their challenges are and what they would identify are their priorities. Let them come up with their plans.”
While each community is free to decide where the officers will focus and what the community needs for policing, Ottenbreit says they have had success stories with police officers having a greater presence in schools.
“We find that it is a pretty effective and proactive way to do policing. Rather than just enforcing all the time, to get out and build relationships.”
It’s a long term project, and Ottenbreit believes that it’s one that is going to pay off in the province, especially as the work these officers are doing begins to have an effect in municipalities.
“You will find that with a lot of different initiatives, if you can find the funding to follow through with it, you will find a seven to twenty two times return on investment. We feel that it’s a pretty good investment from a provincial point of view to aid municipalities on police costs.”
