Mounties killed because of cost-cutting?
Given the recent killings of two RCMP officers in the north, both of whom responded to calls alone, people were calling the back-up policy into question. There's actually no predicting what would have happened had they had back-up, but this certainly doesn't look too good.
In a June e-mail to detachment commanders in Nunavut, an e-mail that was obtained by CBC News, a senior regional officer wrote that while reviewing overtime claims he noticed some units sent two members to all calls.
"The direction that I am giving you, the detachment commander, is to ensure that you and the member(s) under your command base your response to calls on appropriate risk assessment," he wrote in the e-mail.
"Note on all OT claims how many members responded to every call. When more then [sic] one member responds to a call provide an explanation."
Again, back-up may have only given the killers an additional target, but cutting down on back-up because you don't like the amount of overtime people are charging . . .
Maybe the RCMP should spend a little less money on toys like the Taser and more on its people.
