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With violent crime on the rise in rural Manitoba, the province is investing $2 million into its Operational Communications Centre to boost public safety.
The funding will allow officers to respond to crimes and critical incidents in a more timely fashion.
"This investment of $2 million will help ensure our officers have the resources they need to respond to emergencies in the moments when it matters most to Manitobans," said Justice Minister Matt Wiebe.
Manitoba’s Operational Communications Centre is the intake and dispatch command centre for all incoming calls for Manitobans to report an emergency to the RCMP.
The $2 million in additional funding will add six new RCMP officers and ten public servant dispatchers to expand the Operational Communications Centre and allow 24/7 risk management operational support for law enforcement.
“The Association of Manitoba Municipalities (AMM) welcomes the provincial government's investment to strengthen the RCMP's capacity and help ensure a more effective response to crime across Manitoba,” said Kathy Valentino, president, AMM. “With front-line officers dealing with repeat prolific offenders and expanded responsibilities that extend beyond traditional law enforcement, these additional resources are both timely and essential.”
Adding the funding for six new sergeants will also enable the Manitoba RCMP to create a 24/7 member operational support services unit, and expanding the public servant dispatchers by ten new positions will ensure consistent support services can be provided to the public and officers.
The expansion of the Operational Communications Centre builds on the government’s recent actions to address rural and northern crime in Manitoba, including $3.3 million in funding for Manitoba's RCMP emergency response team to double its members.