What Langley’s police divorce means

Langley Township is filing for divorce—of a policing sort.

The Township’s council has voted to stop partnering with Langley City on policing, the municipality announced in a press release issued early Wednesday morning.

Currently, the two municipalities jointly fund a single RCMP detachment that patrols and responds to calls across both the city and the township. But the township now wants to end that, citing a desire to ensure that dozens of new police officers it plans on hiring end up working within its boundaries, not the city’s.

Why does Langley want less integration?

The decision to separate the police force is complex.

Complaints that the township pays more than its fair share aren’t new, and council started to contemplate the move almost immediately after last fall’s election swept Mayor Eric Woodward and his Contract With Langley slate into power. In December, they voted to ask staff to prepare a report considering terminating the 30-year-old cost sharing agreement between the township and city.

Coun. Barb Martens argued resources were being strained with legal decisions and increased call volumes, all of which would be exacerbated by the arrival of SkyTrain.

The former Vancouver police officer said a separation of services would result in “a faster police response, policing tailored to the Township of Langley, and a prioritizing of our needs.”

The township has experienced rapid growth in the last decade and the arrival of SkyTrain will bring new challenges for both the city and township.

The Langleys currently share the financial responsibility of funding the Langley RCMP detachment, although not equally. The municipalities use a funding formula that includes the number of residents and criminal cases in each municipality, along with property values.

On a per-resident basis, Langley City taxpayers end up paying more on average for policing. But the city has a higher crime rate; and on a per-crime basis, the township pays more.

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The township currently spends about $38 million on policing, while the City spends about $15 million, according to the latest financial reports. In its press release, the township cited the fact that it has hired 33 new officers since 2009, and that council voted to add 10 additional officers in the next four years. It pointed out that the number of officers funded by the city has barely budged in the last decade.

Last year, Langley RCMP’s superintendent asked both councils to each hire an additional six officers. Langley City council was asked to approve a $1.3 million increase to the policing budget, a decision it deferred.

The city’s current budget anticipates a 22% police budget increase over the next four years. The township’s long-term police budget is not available.

The township plans to fund the separation with $12.7 million from its RCMP reserve fund, Township mayor Eric Woodward said during the December council meeting. The actual cost of the separation is unknown.

The township isn’t just filing for a policing divorce. It’s breaking up with the city in other ways too. In January, the township served the city with a notice to pull out from a joint emergency program. The 25-year-old agreement outlined how the two communities would coordinate a response in the face of an emergency. That relationship is expected to end in June.

What’s changing

De-integrations of police services are an extremely rare event in British Columbia so it’s unclear how Langley’s split will exactly play out.

The township says it will take two years to split the Langley RCMP’s land, buildings, cars, and other assets.

But figuring out how exactly the Langley RCMP is split in two is likely to be a complex and fraught question—and not one that the township will be able to answer on its own. (The Current received a copy of the news release announcing the split Tuesday afternoon but has not yet spoken to politicians at either municipality.)

Like any divorce, there are two parties, and how the Langley detachment is split will be the result of negotiations between the city, the township, and the RCMP itself.

The city will have to judge how many officers it both needs, and can afford. While much smaller than the township, it has more reported offences, on a per-capita basis.

And like any divorce, the parties will have to figure out who gets the physical assets, and who might get compensated for moving.

The Langley RCMP detachment headquarters is located in Murrayville, in Langley Township. The split will also require dividing equipment, a police fleet, and staff.

Township council’s original motion on the matter suggested that it would pay to the city about 35% of the cost of the Langley RCMP detachment and equipment. The city could then use that money for its own police headquarters and resources. (The city pays 35% toward the cost of capital items at the Langley RCMP detachment, the township says.)

But the city could see things differently. Just like a party in a divorce, the city could have a different understanding of what is required in a split. It (and its lawyers) could interpret any existing deal differently, or try to negotiate a better deal for itself, especially given that the break-up is happening at the behest of its neighbour.

The creation of two detachments will also require sorting out logistical and jurisdictional issues that could crop up, given that Langley Township RCMP will frequently cross into the city when driving from the north side of the municipality to the south, and vice versa.

Finally, the decision may impact relationships between the two municipalities’ councils and initiatives that require both sides’ support.

When asked by the CBC in December how he would take a police break-up, Langley City mayor Nathan Pachal said the existing arrangement had benefited both communities, but that he didn’t begrudge his neighbours for considering going it alone.

But if the township decides co-operation isn’t in its best interest, the city could take a reciprocal approach.

Take transit.

In its release, the township pointed to the arrival of SkyTrain in the city as a factor in its decision. SkyTrain is likely to demand more policing resources, and the city may now have to bear the brunt of those costs.

But Langley Township residents will also heavily use those new SkyTrain stations, and the city could drive a harder bargain on initiatives like Bus Rapid Transit line down the 200 Street corridor to connect to SkyTrain.