Policing was on the discussion table at last week’s Rocky Mountain House town council meeting.

Last Thursday’s meeting saw councilors put forward a motion to reinstate two police positions that were previously eliminated.

Mayor Debbie Baich says the positions were cut due to cost. “It was a budgeting decision. We reviewed our contract. Our contract for municipalities dictates how many police officers we are required to provide funding for. In the past we were paying for more than we were regulated to pay for. With federal government RCMP changes, it became cost prohibitive to carry on.”

But now, Baich says more officers are needed, especially since officers are often required to respond to incidents outside the town. “The County of Clearwater is one of the largest geographical districts in Alberta. It takes a lot of resources to go from Saskatchewan River Crossing to just east of Condor. [And] because our population is lower, it dictates how many officers we are given.”

The mayor also notes that while police are providing good coverage, there are often not enough resources to undertake additional initiatives such as recurring criminal activity and other crime reduction efforts.