The theme of National Police Week, running May 11-17 this year, is Committed to Serve Together.
That extends beyond police officers, as B.C. Solicitor General Garry Begg noted in his statement on the event.
After noting that the province is committed to expanding seats in police academy training, hiring more RCMP officers, and supplying more equipment for police, Begg noted government investments into mental health and addiction supports, including Mobile Integrated Crisis Response Teams, which partner officers with mental health professionals.
When we talk about being "committed to serve together," that's a good reminder that it takes more than police for successful policing.
Police, much like teachers, nurses, and firefighters, often find their job encompasses a lot more than their basic job description implies.
We may think that police are supposed to investigate and prevent crime. But a typical day can involve backing up animal control or bylaw officers while they respond to a complaint, giving emergency first aid, defusing arguments and disputes, searching for a missing person, taking a homeless person to a shelter on a cold night, and teaching kids about bike safety.
A lot of that work helps connect police to the community, but some of it is work that could, and in some cases should, be done by other agencies.
Part of supporting policing, and having an effective police force, involves taking some of that workload off the police, so they can spend more time on their core job functions.
Homelessness is probably the biggest example. As police remind us frequently, homelessness is not a crime. But any dispute between a homeless person and a resident or business owner, down to loitering in front of a store, usually requires police resources to sort out.
Investing in social services, supportive housing, on-demand drug treatment, and mental health supports are worthwhile endeavours on their own, and they would have the happy side effect of freeing up a lot of police officers to work on solving crimes.
The province should also continue to invest in integrated specialized units, like IHIT and ICARS, and could consider fully funding those units and allowing officers to remain in them longer.
Increasing the funding for IHIT wouldn't be a bad thing – more officers could deal with the backlog of unsolved murders, many of which are fiendishly complicated gang homicides. In some cases, there's no substitute for having more people working on a problem.
In the wake of the 2023 death of Const. Rick O'Brien of the Ridge Meadows RCMP, everyone in the community is well aware of the risks that front line RCMP officers can take on.
Effective policing means policing that's responsive, effective, and transparent. Supporting those goals from within and outside the police service is what being "committed to serve together" means.
