Policing on the ballot in Langham
Andrea Hill, Saskatoon StarPhoenix
REGINA, SK: JANUARY 27, 2015 - - RCMP logo art for a news conference during which the RCMP asked for the publics help in solving a series of armed robberies across B.C., Alberta and Saskatchewan (Swift Current). Photo taken in Regina on January 27, 2015. (DON HEALY/Leader-Post) (Story by Terry McEachern) (NEWS) ORG XMIT: POS1501271522366839
Langham residents are heading to the polls this week to vote on whether the town should start shelling out $300,000 a year to have an increased police presence.
If people vote "yes" in the non-binding plebiscite and council decides to establish its own police force instead of relying on the RCMP, the average homeowner in the town of 1,500 people would end up paying an additional $460 on their property taxes.
Policing in rural Saskatchewan, which is largely the purview of the RCMP, has been a hot-button issue in the last year, brought into the spotlight last August when Red Pheasant First Nation teen Colten Boushie was fatally shot on a farm near Biggar. In the charged discourse that followed, some rural Saskatchewan residents cried out that police presence in their areas is so limited and the response time so slow that they are forced to take the law in their own hands.
The Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities passed a resolution this year asking its leadership to lobby the federal government for expanded self-defence laws.
Langham Mayor John Hildebrandt said one of the main concerns he hears from residents is about crime in the community. They're frustrated about break-ins to homes and cars and graffiti on their property. Many residents believe that having police patrolling the town more regularly would cause would-be mischief-makers to think twice before stealing or vandalizing.
In Langham, as in many rural communities, policing is contracted out to the RCMP. Yet just 10 kilometres to the east, the Town of Dalmeny has its own regional police force.
Creating a joint Dalmeny-Langham regional police service, which would involve hiring local officers in Langham, is expected to cost $300,000 annually and involve a $100,000 start-up cost to purchase a police vehicle and other equipment.
Residents of Langham were invited to an open house to discuss the idea last week. Despite the community's concern about crime, Hildebrandt said almost all of the 150 people who attended opposed upping taxes to increase policing.
"On balance of it, they'd like to see more police presence, but not for that much cost," he said. "Taxation outweighed the extra policing."
It's a view that Dalmeny Mayor Jon Kroeker thinks is unfortunate. He's a "huge proponent" of his town's police service and sees huge value for smaller towns (Dalmeny's population is about 1,800) to have local forces.
"I'm also a taxpayer in my town and so I do make those same choices that every other resident makes as far as 'Do I want to be paying a premium on my taxes for this,' and there's no doubt that I would choose that," he said.
It's difficult to compare crime statistics between Langham and Dalmeny because Langham's stats are lumped in with other calls taken by the Warman RCMP detachment. Kroeker says he estimates they're likely comparable — something he attributes to the fact that people in Dalmeny are comfortable calling the police about anything, no matter how small, because they know they'll get a response.
"One of the toughest things for us is: How do we quantify what our police force is doing for us?" he said. "I can't tell you they deterred five crimes last night. The only way you would find that out would be if they were all of a sudden gone. Then what would happen to the crimes or mischief or vandalism or whatever it is? It's one of those things that, I think you would notice it way more if it wasn't there than you actually do notice it when it is there."
The Langham plebiscite takes place Wednesday. While the results are non-binding, Hildebrandt said council will respect voters wishes.
"The council right now is open minded about it either way and we'll kind of go the direction that the people say in the plebiscite," he said.
ahill@postmedia.com
Twitter.com/MsAndreaHill
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