Four police officers for new public safety unit in Brandon

BRANDON — This city’s police chief says the addition of four provincially funded police officers, who will combat retail theft and ensure people follow bail conditions, will allow the police to act more proactively.

“If somebody is in complete disregard of court-ordered conditions and in non-compliance, it’s better to catch them proactively … as opposed to reactively when they’ve committed another violent offence,” Brandon Police Service Chief Tyler Bates said following a police board meeting on Friday.

In May, Premier Wab Kinew announced the province will fund four new positions for a BPS public safety unit, which Bates said will focus on retail theft and bail compliance.

Currently, bail monitoring happens “off the corner of people’s desk” as officers are dealing with tens of thousands of calls for service each year, Bates said during the meeting.

“Trying to find your way to do a bail compliance check, whether it’s curfew or some other court-ordered conditions … with the volume and reactive calls that you’re dealing with, it’s just near impossible to get to the number of bail compliance checks that you’d like to do,” Bates said.

This unit will “provide that proactive ability” and will “certainly make a difference with respect to public safety.”

The funded positions, which have not yet been filled, stem from the formal request in the form of a “business case” that BPS submitted to the province.

“I think the message was heard loud and clear from our provincial funding partners in terms of the needs that we had here,” Bates said.

Justice Minister Matt Wiebe has said the cost of four police officer positions is typically $600,000 per year.

In terms of retail theft prevention, Bates told the Sun when a retail theft happens, a member of the new unit can respond and file a report, rather than the retailer or a loss prevention officer having to go to BPS headquarters and make it.

— The Brandon Sun