Sgt. Groves seeks county assistance for new Mountie

Police in Rimbey have been managing a busy Highway 20 corridor and investigating increased crime activity and Sgt. Mark Groves met with county councillors Feb. 7 requesting funds to help pay for additional officers.

He has also recently met with the Town of Rimbey and councillors agreed to help with staffing.

“They have approved for their budget this year to get a full time administrative support clerk, that doesn’t give me extra boots-on-the-ground policemen, but that does maybe free up the policeman from having to answer the phone or the front counter,” he explained.

Groves expects a new Mountie at the end of February who will temporarily cover the leave of Const. Charles Lambright.

“We will have a female recruit, she’s 27-years-old, has two horses, a dog and grew up in small town BC,” said Groves.

There are two reasons why he looks forward to the new officer: she will be able to fit into a small town atmosphere and bring a much needed female presence.

Drug related complaints are up 400 per cent over the last five years and Groves attributes the increase to his officers investigating matters. This has helped decrease the amount of drugs available to users, but has also increased court times.

“Because we’re charging so many people in the last little while - our court sittings used to be once a month on Friday - our court system has had to put in an extra two or three sittings a month to accommodate the charges to people,” he explained.

The need for a new officer doesn’t come cheap. $128,000 per year for a three-year commitment, but the amount is not just salary; it also includes pension, vacation, benefits and various costs of keeping an employee.

Groves has asked the town, county and province for assistance for additional staff, and he hopes this will alleviate the extra hours his officers are putting in.

County councillors have decided to meet with the province to inform them of the importance of Groves’ needs.