NORTHWEST TERRITORIES
RCMP G Division announced last week it would delay plans for new police detachments in Gameti and Wrigley until it completes upgrades on existing detachments, meaning those small communities won't have a permanent police presence for at least the next four years – and residents say that's too long to wait.

The Inuvik RCMP detachment is scheduled for a major upgrade as the building is about 50 years old. Behchoko RCMP will also be receiving a new detachment. Construction on both buildings is scheduled for 2012 to 2013. - Katie May/NNSL photo

Police detachments in the territory's small, isolated communities are needed more than ever, especially as the community of Gameti braces for this week's trial of Terry Vital, charged with second-degree murder, He is accused of beating his spouse to death, Alice Black, in February 2009. Such crimes could have been prevented had police been stationed in the community, said Lyda Fuller.

The executive director of YWCA Yellowknife, one of the territory's largest non-profit women's organizations, said the delay in building detachments in those communities means some women will continue to live in fear.

"When we talk to women from communities without RCMP, they're afraid. They experience the impact of not having RCMP in the community. They have nobody to turn to when things go sideways and it's worrisome," Fuller said, adding she's concerned RCMP are "prioritizing buildings over people" in its decision to go ahead with upgrades to existing detachments.

She said the centre's crisis line hears from about 40 women a year who live in one of NWT's nine communities without an RCMP detachment, out of a total of 1,400 phone calls to the crisis line annually.

"When women from the small communities without RCMP call us for emergency protection orders, we tell them it's not a good idea when there's nobody there to enforce them," Fuller said. "It's not just women – it's also elders. We hear from them, too."

Years ago, when the RCMP announced its plans to build detachments in Gameti (population 280) and Wrigley (population 160) by the end of 2011, elders in Gameti were overjoyed.

"People were happy. It's been a long time that we've been talking about it and finally we were going to be getting a detachment – so people were happy. Now, they're frustrated again," said former Gameti chief Henry Gon, who emphasized people in those communities depend on police much more than they did generations ago.

"There's a lot of social problems. People have changed and it's not like it used to be. Communities rely on law enforcement. Even chief and council can't do this kind of a job when something serious happens," Gon said, pointing to the Gameti killing as an example.

"It takes a long time to get here and if something happens, nobody can do nothing about it."

Sgt. Wayne Norris, G Division RCMP spokesperson, said the force needs to upgrade its existing detachments in Inuvik and Behchoko before it builds new ones.

He said the Inuvik detachment is more than 50 years old while Behchoko's was built for a four-officer team that has now swelled to about 12.

"They've just outgrown their facilities so we have to keep current with building codes," he said. "It's for the benefit of the members and health and safety as well as the community."

Construction of those new detachments is expected to begin in 2012. Norris didn't have an exact estimate for how much those projects will cost, only that it's in the millions. He did say the projects were scheduled according to available corporate funding.

"These are five- and 10-year plans that we have to schedule for, so once those are completed then they'll again start to look at other facilities that either need a place or need replacing."

In the meantime, Wrigley and Gameti will continue to be policed by officers out of Fort Simpson and Yellowknife, respectively.

Wrigley resident Charlie Hardisty said his community has already waited long enough for a resident police force.

"They want police as soon as possible," he said, expressing his disappointment that the community won't have a detachment until at least 2014. "That will be too long. Some kids here cause a lot of trouble, breaking windows here and there. Sometimes they try to burn down some houses."

"When police are around it seems like they (the kids) don't do as much," he added.

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