Dear Editor,
Re: “Why local policing is best for Richmond,” column, Jan. 20.
I enjoyed reading Andy Hobbs’ guest column. I was interested to know how something can cost more, but we will pay about the same for it.
I, too, have retired from a long career in law enforcement. I learned to seek out facts and evidence, so I was curious how Mr. Hobbs managed his math.
We know that a first class constable in a municipal police force makes $92,165 per year and a RCMP first class constable makes $82,108 per year. That is a difference of about $10,000 per member; we have about 230 members in Richmond.
In addition, the federal government mails us a cheque for 10 per cent of the police budget every year. According to Mr. Hobbs’ figures, that should be about $4.15 million per year.
There are other costs; New Westminster pays about $5,500 for every member it hires and that is just in attraction and testing, not training. Right now, the RCMP absorbs that cost in Ottawa; we do not see it in Richmond.
I could go on, but you get the point. Municipal cops cost a lot more, so how can we keep the price about the same as we pay for RCMP?
Part of the column speaks about greater local control. If we are paying more, we simply need to buy less to keep the costs about the same. This means a reduction of service.
To me, safety of the people in Richmond is number one; we enjoy a relatively low crime rate while not paying significantly more for protection. The system is working.
The folks in Richmond are having a hard enough time making ends meet with the existing increases in tax.
We cannot afford to take the chance that a municipal police force will cost us a great deal more.
Sorry, I am not willing to gamble with safety or family budgets.
Scott Stewart
Richmond
