Westlock town council will consider helping to fund an RCMP school resource officer in Westlock-area schools, but only after discussing the issue with other funding partners first.
Kendall Taylor and Teri Smerychynski, representatives of the Westlock & District Drug Task Force, made a presentation to council at the Nov. 26 meeting to explain what the position would entail and how it might be funded.
Smerychynski said while the drug task force has taken a role in trying to bring possible funding partners together, it lacks the financial resources to come on board in anything other than an advocacy role.
“We want you to look at us as a facilitator in this process,” she said.
It would be left to the two school divisions and three municipalities in the Westlock area to pick up the $140,000 annual cost of the position.
“This, I think, would be a great thing for discussion at joint services,” Coun. Marjorie Sterling Miller said after the presentation.
“There has to be a discussion with the county first,” Coun. Sheila Foley added.
Coun. Clem Fagnan said while this could be seen as another example of higher levels of government downloading costs onto municipalities, it’s a proposition that’s worth considering.
“If they can do this, they can prevent a lot of the crime and catch it before it starts,” he said.
“I know a lot of people will think this is the province downloading again, but it’s our community and I think we should take care of it.”
Smerychynski acknowledged the appearance of provincial “downloading,” but used the analogy of buying a car in support of municipal funding.
“If you buy the car, you get to drive it,” she said. “If the province buys it, you might be lucky to even get a ride in the back seat.”
Taylor emphasized the many benefits of having a police officer in a community’s schools — everything from helping students to get more comfortable working with RCMP officers to reducing calls going to the local detachment.
He referred to the example seen in Barrhead, where the municipalities and the Pembina Hills school division have partnered to fund a school resource officer for the past three years.
He noted that the RCMP detachment there has reported about 10 to 30 per cent of the calls are youth-based, something that a school resource officer can help to reduce.
“That seems to be a consistent net effect in the community,” he said.
If a position is created in the Westlock area, it would begin some time in 2014 and would require a minimum three-year commitment — similar to the commitment required for enhanced policing positions Westlock County has currently.
While the officer would technically report to the detachment commander, and be available for general duties in the case of emergency, the officer’s responsibilities would primarily be in area schools doing things like the DARE program.
