Key takeaways:
- The city requested to review RCMP service days before April 2020 mass slaying.
- The Municipality of Colchester is still pondering whether to keep the RCMP as its police service or change to a current municipal force but doesn’t wish to make any decisions till after the conclusion of the public investigation studying the mass shooting that began in the rural county in April of 2020.
Nova Scotia’s Municipality of Colchester is still pondering whether to keep the RCMP as its police service or change to a municipal force but doesn’t wish to decide until after the public investigation concludes the April 2020 mass shooting that began in the rural county.
In February, Colchester Mayor Christine Blair had revealed the county would “soon settle” on whether to proceed to an existing municipal force. Still, in a recent email to CBC News, she said a determination will be made by the end of the year, “blocking anything unexpected.” She said it would be early to interview while the review is still underway.
Colchester officials made a formal proposal to the provincial Department of Justice to examine the RCMP service on April 16, 2020, two days ere the mass shooting, which started in the Colchester community of Portapique and resulted in the demises of 22 people in some communities.
Read more: The city requested to review RCMP service days before April 2020 mass slaying
The reasons for the review were summarized in a letter sent to the Mass Casualty Commission in December. They have the absence of backfill for officers on leave, problems that date back to 2015.
A consultant’s report presented to the council in November also emphasized worries regarding the level of police presence in the community.
A technical report on police services in Nova Scotia done by a consultant for the public examination and released in February helps the municipality’s concerns.
Source – cbc.ca
