RCMP to increase fees for criminal record searches
By Boundary Sentinel
Boundary region residents will be paying more whenever they need a criminal record search completed starting Feb. 1. The Kootenay Boundary Regional Detachment of the RCMP said they have to increase the fees to ensure their ability to do the checks. “Several years ago an agreement was reached with the City of Trail whereby fees charged for criminal record checks generated revenue used to fund a support position to complete these checks,” said Inspector Nick Romanchuk, officer in charge of the detachment. “The demands of the criminal record check system coupled with increasing complexity and administrative demands within the policing world have nearly crippled our support staff. To be able to continue to provide a quality service we need to increase our administrative resources and collecting fees for the completion of criminal record checks is one way for us to do that.” The fees for criminal record checks will increase to $50 for employment-related checks, while volunteers and students will pay $20, said Romanchuk. The fee for taking fingerprints will remain at $25. As a service to the public, the RCMP conducts criminal record checks on individuals for various reasons including employment and volunteer purposes. The number of organzations requiring these checks has grown astronomically over the past several years, explained Romanchuk. The demand placed on police resources to complete the checks has reached a point where current police resources are unable to meet those demands.
The revenue generated by the fees collected will ensure the sustainability of the position based in Trail to conduct the criminal record checks. The Boundary area will be the first in the region to increase their fees at both the Grand Forks and Midway offices. It is expected that similar fees will be phased into all areas of the detachment over 2011.
