POLICE WORK INCREASING IN DIFFICULTY

Police work in the Shuswap means having to do more with fewer
resources.

Staff Sgt. Kevin Keane, head of the Salmon Arm RCMP detachment,
addressed the Downtown Improvement Association Jan. 14.

Keane said the reality is the Salmon Arm detachment provides policing
24 hours a day, seven days a week across a jurisdiction that stretches
from the midpoint of Enderby to Sicamous, Blind Bay and Sorrento.
Usually the detachment has two officers on shift during the day.

Keane added that each officer averages 24 ongoing investigations,
including at least two sexual assault cases.

"The way we do business is becoming increasingly more
reactive."

Keane noted officers deal with large amounts of paperwork, pointing
out a false alarm incident requires half an hour to fill out the
required forms.

He said currently officers work 10-hour shifts.

The detachment has tried to merge both the clerical role of officers
and street policing.

"We've put computers in the cars to work on some of this
paperwork."

Keane said if a constable is sitting in a hot spot like a bar area
while on night shift, they are usually typing up material while
keeping an eye out.

He pointed out the length of service for officers in Salmon Arm is
averaging under five years.

Keane said a common defensive mentality in newer officers comes from
fear, and stems from lack of experience in dealing with both criminals
and angry victims of crime who blame the police.

"You almost get a fortress mentality. It takes time to let that
relax."

City councillor Chad Eliason said at times the city has asked for two
more officers and hasn't been able to get them.

He added the current complement of police is the highest the
detachment has ever had, in his memory.

Keane pointed out while city-funded police positions have increased,
there has been no increase in provincially funded positions in some
time. Even if there were police spots open, finding the officers to
fill them can be difficult.

"People just don't want this job."

Keane ascribed the phenomenon to people being able to make similar
income without the heartache of police work.

DIA director Michael Wagner agreed, commenting that police work is
getting to be less and less a profession of choice for young people.

Keane said at the moment, the detachment is forming several
priorities.

One of the existing priorities is to curtail drug crime. A detachment
goal is to try and take down a marijuana grow operation per month.
Keane pointed out this goal requires substantial manpower to deal with
what can sometimes be up to 500 plants with 500 lights, along with all
the accompanying paperwork involved. He said busting a grow operation
usually costs about $4,000 and means taking people off their regular
shifts.

Keane noted that marijuana can't be divorced from other drugs. He
related the story of a man who was caught transporting marijuana
across the American border in a hockey bag, where he would exchange
his cargo for cocaine.

"And there would always be a handgun in the bag coming back. I swear
on my mother's life that it is absolutely connected at the organized
crime level."

Keane said Salmon Arm does not seem to have the degree of ongoing
crime issues that Vernon or Kamloops do.

He said at the moment, because he is new to the detachment, his
direction is to identify what concerns there are in the city.

Keane arrived in October from a previous posting in Ucluelet.