The RCMP’s Kootenay Boundary Regional Detachment will be increasing criminal record check fees.
The increase comes due two reasons: One is to unburden the staff at the detachment and the other to increase the turn-around time.
“We’ve just been hugely burdened with the massive increase in these criminal record checks,” says Grand Forks RCMP’s Staff Sgt. Harrison, who also says the extent and scope of the check has increased.
“It’s not just a criminal record check, it’s actually an entire police database check,” he says.
The staff at the detachment got to a point that they were doing nothing but criminal record checks.
“A person has been hired at the Trail detachment, which is part of the Kootenay Boundary regional detachment, and we will be sending all the criminal record checks to Trail,” he says.
The position is paid for by the cost of the
criminal record checks, he says.
This could also speed up checks from two months to only a week.
Harrison adds that they are piloting the project here and eventually the rest of the Central Kootenay detachments will be following suit.
Jan. 22 at 1:22 a.m. on 72nd St. in Grand Forks, local RCMP got a call from a man stating that someone had been knocking at his door, broke the side window of his house and ran away.
“There was minimal damage,” says Harrison, but added that police have no suspects.
On Jan. 22 at 9:02 p.m. police received a call that individuals were throwing snowballs at passing cars out at Christina Lake on Hwy 3.
Police attended and the individuals were gone.
“There was evidence of the snow and ice balls that they were throwing on the highway,” Harrison says.
“That practice is very dangerous and could lead to a fatality or motor vehicle accident.”