This is a different era when it comes to policing these days as some in the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary are leaving the force – sometimes to step outside policing altogether.
The association which represents officers says the RNC is about 80 officers short of a full complement.
President of the RNC Association, Staff Sgt. Mike Summers, speaking on VOCM Open Line, says they fielded about 90,000 calls for service last year – up significantly from what they would receive a few years ago.
He says 80 more officers would bring them in line with the police officer-population ratio. To meet national standards, they would need a force of about 470 members.
Summers says a decade or two ago, case files were less intense than today – the age of cell phones and CCTV.
“Those calls are a lot more strenuous on our officers and take a lot more time than they used to. For an assault, or break and enter, a call would take me 45 minutes, maybe an hour but the demands on police today are different than they used to be,” says Summers.
