City will wait before making changes to RCMP auxiliary program

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — The City is going to wait until new standards are rolled out before taking on any recommendations related to the RCMP auxiliary program.

“At this point the detachment is taking a wait and see attitude pending the rollout of the new policy and standards for auxiliaries,” an administrative report to council stated.

Council directed staff to provide a report regarding the changes to the RCMP auxiliary program — including facts and statistics indicating the value of auxiliary constables — that could be used to provide a letter of support, at February 22 Regular Council meeting.

Auxiliary members are volunteers under the command of the RCMP whose primary purpose is to participate in community policing service activities relating to public safety and crime prevention, on an unarmed basis.

There were four auxiliary members at the end of 2015, but one resigned and another became a regular member, so now there are two.

Auxiliary constables must contribute 160 hours of volunteer time per year, and participate in community policing programs.

Training for auxiliary constables consists of approximately 150 hours — running over a six month period, with classes usually held on consecutive Saturdays.

As staff reviewed the program, they came up with a number of potential changes. These include allowing ride-along and firearms familiarization training to be no longer permitted, installing a National Activity Matrix outlining the duties of Auxiliary Constables, instituting a National Training Standard, updating a national policy, and reviewing uniform options.

The costs of the program, including recruitment costs, training, and the provision of equipment are covered under the Municipal Policing Agreement.