Police commission chair accepts council’s decision
Posted Mar 3, 2010 03:05:20 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
There is no bitterness from the police commission after its recommendation of replacing the RCMP with city cops was rejected by council Tuesday.
However, the chair of the commission, Russell Walker says it remains to be seen whether the decision to keep the status quo was the right one.
“In the future we’ll know if it’s the right one or not,” says Walker. “It’s definitely the more expensive decision. They knew that going in.”
Walker says somewhere along the line, either taxes are going to have to go up, or services will be cut.
RCMP SSgt. Abe Townsend says he doesn’t think the debate will leave a rift between the two forces.
“At the working level I do not believe there is a rift,” says Townsend. “There might be some healthy rivalry.”
He also disagrees with comments from a regional police union official who said Tuesday that integrated units of RCMP and regional officers do not work. Townsend says integrated forces do work, especially in Halifax.
