WHEREAS the demand for RCMP far exceeds the availability of members in rural areas; and

WHEREAS the numbers of RCMP have been increased province wide, the officers have been posted to remote areas and specialized units resulting in other communities being overlooked; and

WHEREAS when a major case file comes in local RCMP resources are moved to the major case and communities and RM's suffer with little to no coverage during the initial phases of the major case; and

WHEREAS with the lower level of RCMP members and increased territory size the criminal element and traffic related incidents are on the rise; and

WHEREAS when a call of criminal activity, mischief or accidents are made to the RCMP, the response time varies from no response to up to three hours or more;

BE IT RESOLVED that SARM lobby the provincial and federal governments to bring police numbers in all areas of the province up to an acceptable level.