Police records cost doubling
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Updated: October 20, 2009 10:14 AM
The price of the new province-wide computer system that connects every police department in B.C. is about to double.
By an order of the provincial government made in 2003, every municipal police department and RCMP detachment must use PRIME (Police Records Information Management Environment), a system that provides instant access to information about criminals and crimes.
Currently, PRIME charges $500 an officer. That is about to double to $1,000, according to a notice sent out by Solicitor-General Kash Heed.
Oak Bay police joined PRIME in 2005. With 26 officers on staff, not counting seconded officers, the department’s annual cost for the service will jump to $26,000 per year.
“But the actual cost is about $1,300 per officer,” said Oak Bay Chief Ron Gaudet, noting that the province subsidizes the program. “It’s still a bargain in terms of what it offers.”
– with files from Dan Ferguson
Black Press
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