Okanagan Correctional Centre straining RCMP resources

It was last October when B.C.’s Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General Mike Morris handed over the keys to the head warden of the new $200 million Okanagan Correctional Centre near Oliver.

It’s the largest jail in the province with the capacity to house almost 400 inmates.

“It greatly expands our inmate capacity in B.C.’s interior and it also provides much needed capacity for the rest of the provincial correctional system,” said Stephanie Macpherson with B.C. Corrections at the time.

But what didn’t come with the investment was additional policing resources to respond to calls generated by the jail, leaving the small Oliver RCMP detachment on the hook.

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The Correctional Centre has generated 58 police files since it started accepting inmates in January.

Most of the calls have been routine matters like DNA sampling and finger printing but there have also been a handful of assaults.

“We wanted assurances that this facility and the burden it would put on the police force would not be borne by the taxpayers of Oliver and they gave us that assurance,” said Oliver Mayor Ron Hovanes.

He showed Global News a 2015 letter from the Ministry of Justice which promised any additional policing costs would be covered by the province given the facility is on First Nation reserve land.

“In the last year the RCMP has put forward a business case suggesting that we could use two additional officers, they’ve done that twice now,” Hovanes said.

Acting detachment commander Staff Sgt. Kirsten Marshall told Global News the businesses cases were based on the review of other jurisdictions like Kamloops which have a correctional centre.

Last year the KRCC generated 350 police files.

Despite the repeated requests for more officers there are still no more boots on the ground.

“Our real concern is just for the general policing of Oliver and greater Oliver the rural area we want to make sure that that’s not diminished,” Hovanes said.

The Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General said it couldn’t comment during the election period.