RCMP officers are once more establishing a presence in Granisle.
Members from the Houston detachment have been conducting regular patrols of the village and area since the detachment there was closed following a decline in population.
But the Village of Granisle council has been advocating since the detachment closure for a full return of service. And although that is not happening, a step in that direction is taking place with officers now staying overnight on occasion.
“We have already started the overnight stays in Granisle, with the first dates being April 12/13, 2023,” Sergeant Ryan Fillmore, the commanding officer of the Houston detachment said last week.
The officers stay in one of two homes the RCMP own in the village and will work out of the detachment office that the RCMP also kept and maintained.
Lobbying efforts by the Granisle village council intensified last year through contact with senior RCMP officers following renewed concern by village residents about safety.
A meeting of village residents attended by the RCMP was held and the idea of a Block Watch program was discussed.
The ability to have officers spend nights in Granisle follows a near return to full staffing at the Houston detachment following a period of vacancies.
In addition to Fillmore, there are now nine constables at the detachment and one corporal who acts as the operations non-commissioned officer for the detachment. A corporal’s position remains vacant.
“This will directly correlate toward an enhanced level of policing to both Houston and Granisle with a full contingent of members to focus on crime initiatives and community engagement,” said Fillmore of the boost in detachment strength.
A letter of agreement signed between the RCMP and the Village of Granisle council affirmed the police force’s commitment to the village.
“The Houston detachment will provide the Village of Granisle with RCMP members who will periodically reside in the community, until such a date that full re-integration is achieved,” the agreement signed Jan. 17, 2023 reads.
“The Houston detachment is committed to providing a quality and timely service, the effective and efficient use of resources, and the overall enhancement of public safety.”
Granisle mayor Linda McGuire acknowledged the overnight stays of the RCMP, saying the commitment to do that follows the signing of the letter of agreement in January.
”Our residents have commented in the past the comfort they would feel with the RCMP presence returning to Granisle,” she said.
The decision by the RCMP to close the Granisle detachment in the first place was a gradual one and followed a drop in population after two nearby mines were closed.
For a period of time, remaining RCMP officers in Granisle lived in the homes owned by the police force but were considered part of the Houston detachment, driving back and forth for their shifts. But that ended when the decision was made to physically transfer the officers to Houston.