Sask. RCMP respond to leaked memo showing staffing concern

The RCMP has responded to a leaked internal memo suggesting vacancy rates are posing a dire problem in Northern Saskatchewan.

The document came to light Wednesday morning.

The official response from RCMP Supt. Kris Vibe came Wednesday afternoon during an exclusive interview with Gormley on 650 CKOM.

In the memo, the commander of the service’s North District asks for help with the youth suicide crisis gripping northern communities.

He said he is running with a 15 per cent vacancy rate.

The reply he gets claims the South District has an eight per cent staffing shortage of its own.

“We do the best we can with the resources that we have,” Vibe said.

The memo disputes the RCMP’s official vacancy rate in the province at 3.3 per cent, but Vibe didn’t say whether they need more officers.

“We look at resource levels and those conversations are between policing partners and ourselves,” Vibe said.

He explained if RCMP did require more officers, they would need to have a discussion with the provincial government.
 
“Policing is a provincial responsibility and communities and provinces decide how much they’re willing to invest in policing and that’s how we get the resources we have,” Vibe said.