News Release

Additional RCMP Officers to be Assigned to Sackville

(Friday, February 18/05)-- Increased RCMP presence in Sackville should help to reduce the number of speeding incidents and discourage crimes involving youth, Councillor Bob Harvey said today.

Councillor Harvey (Lower Sackville) and Councillor Brad Johns (Middle/Upper Sackville-Lucasville) welcomed the announcement today that four additional RCMP officers are being assigned to the Sackville Office, effective April 1.

The move is the result of a realignment of policing services between Halifax Regional Police and RCMP Halifax Detachment. Halifax Regional Police is assuming responsibility for the area commonly referred to as the “Sambro Loop” and the “Purcells Cove - Herring Cove Loop”. This will allow RCMP resources to be redeployed to the Sackville area.

Councillor Harvey said the Sackville area has seen tremendous growth as both a business and a residential centre, and this has resulted in an increased workload for Sackville RCMP. Both Councillors have been working for some months now to have additional policing resources assigned to their area.

“The additional officers will make the RCMP even more visible in our area, and we are hoping this will discourage youth crimes and speeding, particularly along Sackville Drive and residential streets,” he said.

Councillor Harvey said HRM’s new integrated dispatch centre, which goes into operation this June, should help to reduce police response times. The system will dispatch the closest patrol car to a call for police assistance, whether it is an RCMP officer or a Regional Police cruiser.

In addition, he said pending Council approval to hire 32 new officers over the next two years to re-activate of HRP’s Traffic Division and to create a new Community Response Team will make more police resources available to the community.

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Councillor Bob Harvey
(902) 488-4820