Public Safety is the most important city service. It is also our most expensive and most complex service. The protection of life and limbs is primarily provided by the RCMP, as well as the Fire Department, but also by our Bylaw officers and our Public Works crews, who maintain our streets and sidewalks, notably over the winter.
Policing is nevertheless the main public safety service. Soon after I was elected in 2021, I made two important motions on public safety. First, I asked Council to adopt and implement a crime reduction and prevention plan. Council had several plans, but none on crime, despite the fact that Moncton had the 3rd worst crime rate and 10th worst crime severity index in Canada. The majority of Council voted against my motion. They preferred to wait for the Greater Moncton Chamber of Commerce’s Task Force report on homelessness and public safety.
Since little progress was achieved over the subsequent year, I repeated my motion in July 2022.
Again, the majority of Council voted against it. I do not know why.
Unfazed, I then decided to try a plan B: convince Council to update the city’s strategic plan and ensure that public safety became the plan’s number one priority, then repeat my request for a crime reduction and prevention plan.
This time, I succeeded. Council will adopt a 3-year plan in April.
The draft plan proposes to reduce the crime rate by 10 % every year by 2030, as well as 26 recommendations to make this happen. The plan will focus efforts on minor crimes like thefts under 5,000$, breaks & enters, mischief, causing a nuisance and trespassing and in the city's crime 'hotspots'. Hiring 8 additional Peace Officers and a dozen social workers and improving provincial collaboration are the key measures in the plan.
I commit to convincing my Council colleagues to implement the 3-year crime reduction and prevention plan.
The Province must assume its responsibilities. Many of the crimes committed in Moncton, like minor thefts, are committed by homeless residents. For them, arrest and incarceration are not the solution. Most need treatment for addiction and mental health disorders as well as other support services. These are provincial responsibilities.
I commend the Province for establishing a mental health court, but it must do more.
The Province must hire several social workers to prevent crime and fund its share of public safety costs.
Other measures in the plan address governance issues that plague our police force. Moncton pays 70% of the Codiac RCMP Detachment yet has no say in police operations and cannot hold the RCMP accountable. For example, I made a motion, adopted by Council, that the City provide about 900,000$ to hire 5 more RCMP members in 2023 to patrol downtown and the Jones Lake area, but the RCMP took the additional funds and decided to invest them elsewhere.
Another governance issue revolves around the regional police commission (CRPA) and its complicated budget process. The citizens appointed by Council to the CRPA board do not have to respect Council’s wishes. Also, there is confusion between the number of officers requested by the CRPA and by the RCMP. For 2026, the RCMP requested 4 more officers, but the CRPA requested 15 additional officers. The CRPA could not demonstrate the impact of their number even if we specifically asked its board members to do so. In addition, the RCMP is not very clear in reporting the number of members who are fully operational at any given time.
We must improve the governance of our police services if we really want to reduce crime.
Reducing crime and improving public safety will be my most important commitments.
My second motion on public safety in 2021 was to hire policing experts to answer a fundamental question: What kind of police services does Moncton really need? The experts came to two main conclusions. First, we should maintain the RCMP as the service provider because it would cost more to establish a municipal police force. Second, the city needs a detailed workload analysis to prioritize the types of crime we wish to reduce and to adjust our human, material and financial resources accordingly. This is why I proposed a crime reduction and prevention plan to set measurable goals and prioritize resources. The plan is not perfect, but we finally have one. Citizens can assess our progress and results.
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The City now has 20 Bylaw Officers, 9 more than in 2021. They enforce city bylaws like unsightly premises and deal with issues like homelessness. They are limited in what they can do. For instance, they cannot legally go on a private property without the written consent of the owner. We must eliminate these limits to let our employees do their job.
Our Bylaw Officers must become Peace Officers. That designation will grant them more powers and eliminate some of the restrictions that reduce their effectiveness. For example, Peace Officers can conduct investigations involving minor crimes and ensure follow-up. They would be of assistance to RCMP members and help them maximise time.
Many cities in Western Canada with RCMP services also hire Peace Officers who operate without the limits imposed on our Bylaw Officers. They complement RCMP efforts by preventing crimes and investigating minor crimes. I have advocated the hiring of Peace Officers in Moncton since 2011. The Province consistently maintained the status quo.
Unfazed, I convinced Council to ask the main parties during the 2024 provincial election campaign to approve our request for Peace Officers. All three parties agreed. The Province is finally considering this. Patience is a virtue.