Superintendent Shawna Baher outside the RCMP detachment in Vernon (photo by Liam Verster/Vernon Matters Staff)

By Liam Verster

Space Shortage

Study on crowded Vernon RCMP detachment to go ahead

Dec 12, 2023 | 11:45 AM

The RCMP detachment in Vernon will be evaluated to determine how to best use the space available and what upgrades are needed.

At its regular meeting Monday, Dec. 11, Vernon city council received a staff report requesting authorization to fund a space planning and feasibility study costing $98,848 at the RCMP headquarters next to Vernon City Hall.

The study would assess the current conditions of the building which dates back to the 1960s, compare it to the needs of the existing and the growing police force, and then make recommendations for renovations or additions to the building.

Geoff Gaucher, general manager of RCMP Support Services, presented the request to council, stating the detachment is currently very crowded.

“We are very compacted, and there’s a number of places that we are particularly short on. You’ve seen exhibit (evidence) storage, we’re short internally, and work station space for the uniformed members, the front line policing members, it’s also pretty tight,” Gaucher told council.

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Mayor Victor Cumming added the change room facilities in the detachment were also very tight, and following the meeting told Vernon Matters that while the police have been able to mainly work out of the detachment, the shortage of work space in the building had resulted in some officers needing to work out of city hall.

“Part of the downstairs here in the main building is used for the RCMP,” Cumming told Vernon Matters.

“They need more space, so we’ve hired those [contractors] to begin to sort out what type of space and where, and is it an addition to the building or is it an addition to another building.”

The mayor added RCMP buildings are expensive, so the analysis of the detachment will hopefully come up with solutions to the space shortage that are financially viable, but also meet the needs of the growing force.

“It needs more space, it needed more space five years ago. We’ve added officers [for Vernon], for Coldstream and for the Electoral Areas around us, we’ve all added officers, called provincial officers,” Cumming stated.

“We’re adding more officers and more non-member staff. Yes, we need more space for them.”

A contractor had already been selected to undertake the study, and at the meeting Monday Vernon council voted unanimously in favour of authorizing the expenditure of up to $98,848.85, excluding GST, for the study.

That funding would be provided through the RCMP Building Reserve, which at the time of publication had a balance of $2,171,504.