Lower Mainland District (LMD) Integration Initiative

When the RCMP's present model of delivering policing services in the Lower Mainland was developed, communication and transportation systems were in their infancy. Offenders primarily committed crimes in their own neighborhoods. Policing was much simpler then: officers were able to solve a great deal of local crime from the knowledge they had from living, working and simply patrolling through the communities they policed. Today, with our increased mobility our community includes not only the city we live in, but the entire Lower Mainland. Thus, our present model of policing communities in isolation from one another, may soon become outdated.

Today, there is rising pressure to respond to more emergency calls, cross-jurisdictional investigations, international crisis situations, and to the complexities of organized crime and terrorism. The RCMP must respond to meet these challenges. Now is the time to develop a bold, new organization, which is capable of tackling 'modern' crime. Policing must continue its progress from reactive to proactive approaches, working more cooperatively to target policing issues, to ultimately provide "Safe Homes, Safe Communities".

To meet these challenges, the RCMP established the BC Policing Study Team. This study was mandated to determine how the RCMP was carrying out the business of policing in the Lower Mainland and to ensure the policing activities focused on achieving the mission, vision, and values of the organization. The study's purpose was to seek out and recommend changes required to meet the future demands and expectations of contract partners, our members and the citizens of the communities we serve. A major goal of the Study was to find innovative solutions to reduce overhead (when appropriate), and to increase front-line policing support.

The Lower Mainland District’s integration strategy was formed as a result of this study. The District incorporates the RCMP serviced communities from Boston Bar to Pemberton. The Effective Policing Team also came from the study. This Team is up and running and is exploring avenues to increase our overall effectiveness throughout the province, in order to enhance our service delivery to you.

From the onset, consultation has taken place with key stakeholders. The Mayors/RCMP Consultative Forum (a committee representing political jurisdictions and RCMP in the Lower Mainland), a Staff Working Group (a group consisting of representatives and Chief Administrative Officers from the Lower Mainland), and the Lower Mainland Police Advisory Committee was formed in order to initiate consultation and dialogue with these key stakeholders.

The ultimate goal of a more effective policing organization is to deliver the following:

• Enhanced Front Line Service Delivery (eg. Putting more front-line officers on the road)
• A More Effective and Efficient Organization (eg. Eliminating redundancies)
• Targeting Crime Through Intelligence Led Policing

How do we achieve this goal?
What is integration?
How will it affect your community?
Why is there a desire to change the current police service?
Will smaller communities lose police service and larger communities become the priority?
Why do we need an Integrated Homicide Investigation Team? We have not had a homicide in our community for years?
When is this all going to happen?

How do we achieve this goal?

We've started developing a new model of providing policing services to the citizens of the Lower Mainland. Instead of confining police responsibilities strictly along municipal boundaries, the future of Lower Mainland Policing lies in an integrated model, which provides efficient service delivery while maximizing resources. By integrating our services, we eliminate costly redundancies in manpower, reduce duplication in services, and put more experienced members on the road where they can serve you better. Most importantly, we can continue to prevent crime by actively targeting problem areas in our communities.

The reality is, criminals are highly mobile and opportunistic. Our fast paced society and increasing reliance on technology make it easier for criminals to hide and adapt to their environment. This is further complicated when police agencies are not able to effectively communicate with one another. This “silo effect” means that we are focusing solely on what is in front of us as opposed to the big picture. We are forced to react to more and more calls for service, leaving less time to proactively target criminals and solve community concerns.

An integrated police service does not focus on one community, but on the whole community. Criminals can no longer hide behind jurisdictional boundaries as the flow of information and investigative avenues are no longer restricted by these boundaries. An integrated police service can communicate quickly and efficiently. It can adjust to situations and pressures effectively, without having an unforeseen impact on normal operations. Most importantly, an integrated police service will not just meet current expectations, but exceed them, by providing more timely response and increased effectiveness in investigations.

What is integration?

Integration means bringing our services together to provide enhanced service delivery. We will be able to bring support services such as General Investigation Sections, Police Dog Services and Forensic Identification Services directly to our front-line officers where they are needed the most. The approach will be balanced, in order to ensure our resources and funding are prioritized according to need. We are looking at total service delivery, not just one aspect. We will take into account the pressures on the front line while coordinating administrative and support services.

By definition, Integration means “to form, coordinate or blend into a functioning whole.” What this means to our communities is the elimination of duplicate services, so that we can put more support services and experience on the front line. Integration also allows police officers to cross jurisdictional boundaries more readily, and with increased safety, thereby ensuring real time response, right when it is needed. In plain language, Integration means to merge similar services, which currently operate under different mandates, at separate locations or under separate directions.

How will it affect your community?

The core of the RCMP policing philosophy is community-based policing. Integration will bring us more in touch with our communities. As always, there will be a senior police contact with whom the Mayors and Councils can discuss issues and concerns. They will also have a thorough understanding of what is happening in their community, as well as in the surrounding communities. Front-line members will continue to work from Community Police Offices. Citizens will be familiar with the members dedicated to their communities, setting the stage for partnerships and effective service delivery. Communities will not lose the police services they always had, but will in fact gain from our enhanced service delivery. As we develop this new model, consultation with the Mayors and Councils and their respective communities will be vital to ensure we are providing the best possible service.

Why is there a desire to change the current police service?

For more than fifty years, the Status Quo has worked well. The RCMP remains committed to the communities we serve in the Lower Mainland. We are committed to urban policing and are designing a process that will demonstrate the value of our service and carry us well into the future. We will continue to provide excellent police service to our communities, while at the same time striving to always improve.

Many of us can remember when our communities were distinct and separate, as were our detachments. Now it is difficult to see where one community ends and the next begins. When our current detachments were formed, they were relatively small, appropriate to the size of the community. Today, our communities are growing rapidly, while our police services struggle to keep pace. We must recognize both the similarities and the differences between large urban and small rural communities, all the while maintaining equitable police service for everyone. Reacting by increasing numbers within the standard detachment model, does not address the changing dimensions of policing, nor does it focus on proactive responses to problem areas.

The reputation of the RCMP must be earned every day. This new model will provide a strong foundation to support a more dynamic law enforcement organization with the ability to recognize emerging crime problems and proactively challenge them.

Will smaller communities lose police service and larger communities become the priority?

Our goal is “Safe homes, Safe communities". This will not change regardless of a community's size. It is vital that we provide the right services at the right time, based on an intelligence led policing model. It no longer makes sense to have support units standing by “just in case". Large numbers of police officers standing by may offer a perception of safety; however, they are far more effective when they are proactively focused on specific issues.

We are looking at what is best for the Lower Mainland as a whole, as well as the unique needs and concerns of individual communities. An example of this is our newly formed Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT). This unit puts experienced investigators in the field immediately when a homicide occurs, leading to increased effectiveness in solving these serious crimes. Building on this approach, an integrated and intelligence-based model for all our operations will focus our efforts effectively, and ultimately lead to even more successes in our fight against crime. Every community will benefit from this.

Why do we need an Integrated Homicide Investigation Team? We have not had a homicide in our community for years?

One of the advantages of integration, especially with our support units, is that experts in certain fields of investigation can be tasked to specific problems. Being dedicated to a specific investigation can only better develop our expertise. This in turn leads to a greater likelihood of success and conviction. By forming IHIT, we have an ability to quickly deploy to any homicide with a full team of specialized investigators. This enables us to immediately concentrate on the details of the investigation in order to locate and arrest a suspect. A recent investigation has shown that while criminals may operate in one municipality, they may live elsewhere across the Lower Mainland. We do not know of any community in the Lower Mainland that has not been touched in some way by the trauma of a homicide. Because of the mobile nature of our modern society, we can usually attribute some direct or indirect aspect of a homicide to every community at one time or another. This could include the crime scene, the recovery scene, or the home of the victims, suspects or witnesses. We are all affected by these tragedies.

When is this all going to happen?

It is already happening! Most of the current work is behind the scenes, however, you can already see the benefits of such units as IHIT and the Integrated Municipal Provincial Auto Crime Team (IMPACT). We are consulting with our partners, municipalities, and members as we develop business cases. We are developing a strategic implementation plan, which will address the needs of our communities and members. Changes will become even more visible as more detachments and support units become integrated.

We will keep you updated as this initiative unfolds. For a detailed description of RCMP services in your area, refer to the following links:

RCMP National
RCMP BC Detachment Directory
RCMP British Columbia