Langham says no to forming own police force

Langham residents have voted overwhelmingly against forming a municipal police force.

In a plebiscite on Wednesday, fewer than 10 per cent of people who cast ballots were in favour of hiking property taxes in order to hire three local officers to police the town of 1,500.

The final tally was 38 votes in favour of starting a local police force and 406 votes against.

Policing in the Town of Langham, as in most rural Saskatchewan communities, is done by the RCMP. Many residents feel the national force does not provide an adequate police presence, said Langham Mayor John Hildebrandt.

In an interview last week, he told the Saskatoon StarPhoenix that he has heard from residents who are frustrated by break-ins to homes and cars and by graffiti sprayed on their properties.

People told him they thought that if police patrolled the town more regularly, would-be mischiefmakers would think twice before stealing or vandalizing. However, people clearly weren’t prepared to pay extra for the service.

It would have cost $300,000 a year for Langham to run a joint regional police force with the neighbouring town of Dalmeny, which operates a municipal police force of three officers. A police vehicle and other equipment would have cost about $100,000 more.

If the town had pursued that plan, the average resident’s annual property tax bill would have increased by $460.

In an interview last week, Hildebrandt said he did not expect residents to vote in favour of forming a local police force.

In Saskatchewan, six cities, three towns and/or villages, three rural municipalities and one First Nation have their own police forces.

The rest of the province is policed by the RCMP.