Sanikiluaq (July 09/01) - The RCMP has backed off on a decision to close Sanikiluaq's two-person detachment for three weeks this summer.

Instead, the tiny Belcher Island community, the southernmost in Nunavut, will enjoy the services of two relief officers while the detachment's two regular members take holidays this month.

One resident who contacted News/North expressed concern a handful of "troublemakers" would terrorize the community without a police presence.

Staff Sgt. Mark Hennigar of the RCMP's Nunavut headquarters did not list specific issues community members might have raised.

"The detachment commander was in contact with the hamlet and he was always in conversation with the local stakeholders," Hennigar said.

Smaller communities in the territory sometimes go without a police presence for short periods. In the Kivalliq, for example, Coral Harbor loses its one officer when he takes holidays, and other hamlets in the region are facing staffing pressures as demands on their time continue to grow.

But Hennigar, who oversees the policing of Nunavut's 22 rural detachments, said unstaffed detachments are a last choice when officers take leave.

"There were various plans considered simply due to shortages and some safety issues, but we've managed to locate some extra bodies and we'll be able to cover off the entire period," he said.

"We are juggling our resources the best we can."