A2 - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, Ocleber 17, 2001 More cuts for RCMP By SARAH A, ZIMMERMAN BEFORE THE city shar- pened its budget axe, the province took aim at its own police budget.. The cuts take the form of a cap on what-the B.C: Liberal government pays for police outside of muni- cipalities. Jt works out to an an 11 per cent reduction in- what the RCMP says it needs for operation and: mainte- nance province-wide, Overtime is one of the: ‘areas that. could--save -money, but Inspector Doug ‘Wheler of the Terrace ‘RCMP detachment that is -difficult because of the na- ‘ture of police work. Highway patrols, which ‘are paid for by the pro- vince, often have to have more members working ‘statutory holidays on over- ‘time because there is more traffic on the road, he said. - “And those are the ‘times when we need ap- _propriate resources,” Whe- ler added. : Cost saving measures ‘outlined by the head of the ‘RCMP in B.C., Assistant ‘Commissioner Beverly ‘Busson, include cuts to operating and maintenance ‘budgets, 4 reduction of tra- ‘yel costs and a reduction in overtime pay. “Obviously provincial cutbacks in those areas -will have an impact in the ‘number of police officers that will be out in traffic enforcement and that will have an impact on service -delivery fo the commun- ity,” said Inspector Whe- ‘ler. : He added the highway patrol will be limited in its ‘ability to travel great dis- ‘tances for the remainder of ;the fiscal year because of the order to reduce travel! ‘costs. The highway patrol in ‘Terrace covers the region From front Hi tech’. ‘health | Terrace and Cranbrook are the only two hospitals : in B.C. to have this kind of ‘trauma advice connection ’ for now as a test. The equipment was to ‘have been installed the ‘ beginning of September but the number of agencies - involved and agreements ‘needed have delayed the ‘ project at Jeast until later . this year, ___ All of this capabilily is being regarded aS 4 Cost saver by avoiding, unless necessary, the transfer of patients or travel by spe- cialists in the current cli- mate of strained health , care budgets. Linton is quick to say ‘that the ability of high _ technology to provide edu- cation and diagnostic ser- . vices should not be used : aS a reason to avoid hay- ‘ing medical services in ‘ more remote ar rural loca- ‘ tions. “You still need the : manpower and skili sets,” ' he says. , Linton adds that the ability for physicians to ‘communicate over long ‘ distances will help in re- ’ cruiting and keep them in : the northwest. He said the demonstra- ‘ tian here the end of Sep- - tember went a long way to : convincing physicians and : nurses of the value of the technology. “It's not a replacement, ' but an enhancement,” said - Lancaster of telemedicine. ‘ The plan is to expand _ these kinds of services to _ smaller locations through- : out the northwest. Australia; which also : has a small population and : a large area, is considered a world leader in teleme- : dicine, : And in Canada, Alberta ‘has taken the forefront in ‘installing the technology. iods. ‘But because of the high “cost: of fuel and the over- Aime incurred. by travel- - fram here to the Yukon border and out to the Queen Charlorte Istands. Members from here make patrols to outlying aréas and are. sometimes requested to assist. other. detachments. in places like “Stewart by: supplying more “manpower during busy per ling; Wheler said members areas.” "You can. be certain ihat those’ trips will be cur- tailed by 11 per cent,” Wheler said. ‘from Terrace will be mak- ing fewer trips to those If, for example, a ¢ com- .. * *: Wheler said the RCMP al- munity. like Stewart. re- quested two’ additional members “from Terrace, go. ; : One of the police. dogs _here is paid for by the pro- vince and is.required to ‘cover the whole northwest Tegion. important operations. “If travel is critical to a case then of course we are going to go through with it,” Morris said. - Another cost-saving measure, to be implemen- led-is the elimination of paying officers overtime to appear in court. Superintendent | Morris Said ‘there is some confu- sion as tO ‘how this will “work, : -“Ii’s impossible to pre- determine or. eliminate overtime. cost associated ” t-eourl “subpoena or.a notification when ‘we get a to atlend-court we are bound by that to attend court,” Morris said. “Locally, Inspector ready works with Crown ' Council to minimize the one may only be able to © Travel restraints - “may affect when and where the dag is used. Those restraints also mean out-of-town training courses for members and administration here have already been cancelled to save on the cost of travel, food and accommodation. But RCMP Superintea- dent Mike Morris, in charge of northem poli- cing, said cost saving measures will not affect From front ‘time an officer spends at ‘the court house waiting to be called to testify. He Said those efforts will con- tinue. They are also trying to reduce bow often an offi- “eer who's transferred out of Terrace must return here for court appearances for unresolved cases. Not only will that save on avertime costs, but it could save on travel ex- penses as well. Another cost saving ‘measure includes an 11 per cent decrease in operation and maintenance costs al every detachment in B.C., Superintendent Morris said. City cuts cop cosis But Wheler said a time of economic crisis is often when policing is needed most. “When this happens in a community, the crime rate usually goes up,” he said. Work downtime puts severe stress on families, he said, leading to depression, abuse of alcohol and drugs and family violence. taal fis Parone ater ae ara EJ Tine iribte 91 8A arrow purchase pte Pardee con ian eoren ASAE Ska OZOH el yr Fr Foe a , See Deater ker oetats $28 "2795 downpayment Incluiles *B40 alr tax/freight TERRACE PONY CLUB _ Annual General Meeting Thursday, October 18th at 7:00 p.m. Thornhill School Library Everyone Welcome! HOUSE OF COMMONS Andy Burton Member of parliament r Skeena Consthseney Office 4654 Lazalle Ave. Terrace, 8.C. VBG 156 Phone: (250} 635-1601 Fax: (250) 635-4109 Tol Free: 1-800-661-2208 E-mail: andyfa rton.ca Website: wew.andyburion.ca jm mod’ 36 montis security deposit waived ‘ZWILLING J.A. 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