RCMP Watch

CBC News

A town councillor in Shediac says there aren’t enough RCMP officers on the street in the community.

But police say they are doing what they can and the town could review its contract with the Mounties or consider hiring private security.

Councillor Leo Doiron said he hears complaints about the local RCMP every day.

Doiron said people are often upset about slow response times by police. In one case, a restaurant was robbed and police didn’t show up until the next day, he said.

“We do not have the services that we pay for, unfortunately. People in the town of Shediac were used to having [a] municipal police force and they were very visible. Now we have contracted out to a federal force and they have other responsibilities.”

But RCMP Sgt. Derek Strong said there’s no difference between the responsibilities of a local force and the RCMP.

He said it could be time for the Town of Shediac, which pays for 10 officers, to review its contract with the RCMP.

He also pointed to the Village of Hillsborough, which hired a security guard in May because it said a lack of RCMP visibility in the community was partly to blame for a rise in vandalism.

“If a particular community has a crime problem, we’ll work hand in hand with them. If they feel private security will augment their service, then we think that’s a great idea and we’ll certainly work with any security company to augment the service. There’s no question.”