RCMP service is 'broke,' says mayor of N.B. town, as dissatisfaction hits boiling point

Dissatisfaction with the quality of service from the RCMP has seemingly reached a boiling point in a central New Brunswick town, in the wake of a recent home invasion that ended with a 75-year-old man being shot.

"I think their system's broke," Grand Lake Mayor Kevin Nicklin said to residents at a council meeting Monday night.

"To me, they're not doing policing anymore. They're doing investigation work."

He added that the few police officers in the community of about 5,800 appear to be too overworked to properly respond to crimes as they're happening. 

Residents frustrated

Nicklin's comments reflected frustration shared by the residents who showed up at the meeting.

They voiced concerns about how the RCMP responded to a recent shooting and about a general sense the force is inadequately serving the southern New Brunswick community, which includes the villages of Chipman and Minto. 

"We've got people breaking into houses, shooting people, we've got stuff being stolen constantly," said one resident, who didn't introduce herself before addressing council.

"So I'm just kind of getting a little frustrated [because] we have no support from anyone."

Citizens can rest assured that there are always enough RCMP police officers and operators to respond to urgent priority calls.- Cpl. Hans Ouellette, RCMP spokesperson

The RCMP said officers responded on Sept. 1 to a report of a shooting outside a home in Gaspereau Forks, which is part of the amalgamated Municipality of Grand Lake, about 80 kilometres northeast of Fredericton.

The RCMP said they believe two people were burglarizing a home, when the owner and a 75-year-old man arrived at the scene. An altercation followed, and the elderly man was shot. He was taken to hospital with serious injuries.

As details of the shooting — and the fact no arrests had been made — spread by word of mouth, residents became concerned about a lack of communication from the RCMP about what had happened and whether the public was in danger.

RCMP finally issued a news release online, three days after the incident took place.

No updates, including news of any arrests, have been provided.

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News asked the RCMP for an interview about the concerns residents raised on Monday and whether the RCMP are bound by a standard response time for calls.

Instead, Cpl. Hans Ouellette provided a statement, which did not say whether RCMP are required to respond to calls within a certain timeframe.

As for staffing, Ouellette said, the force has filled 43 of 51 new front-line officer positions for New Brunswick, for which the provincial government provided funding for over two years starting in 2023. 

Ouellette said the RCMP expects to hire the other eight front-line officers by the end of next year.

Once that is done, Regional Service Commission 11, which includes Grand Lake, will have 15 new officers, bringing the total complement up to 58. 

Ouellette said those 58 officers would be split between detachments in Minto, Keswick, Nackawic, New Maryland and Oromocto, but he didn't say exactly how many would be stationed at each.

"Citizens can rest assured that there are always enough RCMP police officers and operators to respond to urgent priority calls, and to ensure officer and public safety, as RCMP resources can be shared throughout the [regional service commission] and provincially if necessary," Ouellette said.

Response time questioned

Residents on Monday peppered Nicklin with questions about what he knew about the RCMP's response on Sep. 1, and whether anything would be done in response to it.

Some attendees alleged the police took an hour to respond to the call about the shooting.

Nicklin said he asked the RCMP for that information, but they declined to share it with him.

"I would prefer that they [RCMP] were here to answer these questions themselves, obviously," Nicklin said.

"I have fought with them tooth and nail over it. I went so far as to suggest to them that we side with the Fredericton police and pay them the fees because they would be easier to deal with."

Concerns brought to minister

Nicklin said he's already raised concerns with Public Safety Minister Kris Austin, who is also the MLA for the area.

Nicklin said Austin told him his government would work to have 11 RCMP officers stationed specifically at the Minto detachment, which Nicklin said currently has two officers attached to it.

However, the timeline for getting those officers in Minto was unknown because of hiring challenges, Nicklin said.

CBC News asked for an interview with Austin about what standard RCMP officers are held to when it comes to response times in rural communities, and what he planned to do to address residents' dissatisfaction with their service.

In a statement to CBC News, Austin did not say whether RCMP are required to respond to calls within a certain timeframe.

But he said he's concerned about crime in the community, which he said is the reason his government spent more money for new officers.

"I believe rural regions will see a noticeable change in police presence with this injection of these additional RCMP officers," he said.

Under a 20-year contract, RCMP provide policing in areas of the province where there is no municipal police force.

Municipalities pay part of the cost, which for Grand Lake is about $1 million a year, Nicklin said.

However, he's just the latest mayor to complain in recent years about not getting the desired level of service from the RCMP.

Nicklin said he invited members of the RCMP to Monday's council meeting, but they declined.

In response to comments by residents, he said he would go back to the RCMP, as well as to Austin, to ask them to attend a town hall meeting to discuss residents' concerns.