Richmond News
Richmond residents may soon be asked if they want to cut ties with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
Last week, Mayor Malcolm Brodie announced the City of Richmond was continuing to research the feasibility of forming its own independent municipal police force.
At issue for Brodie is costs and governance.
“We’ve got issues on the governance side of things, consisting of the difference between having an Ottawa-based police force that interacts with council through a community safety committee …compared to the controls you can set with a police board, appointed by the mayor,” said Brodie.
A major thorn in the side of the city, according to Brodie, has been the RCMP’s decision to build a $1 billion E-Division headquarters in Surrey named Green Timbers.
Brodie said the facility wasn’t necessary and, furthermore, local municipalities were not properly consulted, particularly when it came to the bill.
Brodie said to the best of his knowledge, the dispute over the bill is ongoing between the RCMP and the Province of B.C.