A new member of the E-Comm board of directors is willing to meet with the New Westminster police board – and the board may take him up on his offer.
George Madden is the newly appointed representative on the E-Comm board of directors for independent police boards, including New Westminster, Abbotsford, Port Moody, West Vancouver, as well as the Metro Vancouver Transit Board.
“I am interested in the opportunity to learn more about your board’s thoughts related to E-Comm so that I am well informed to represent our syndicate accordingly,” he wrote in a letter to the New Westminster police board.
Madden noted that he’d been invited to attend a Port Moody police board meeting in the fall for a 20-minute session, where he would hear its thoughts and concerns related to E-Comm. He offered to attend a New Westminster police board meeting.
At his final police board meeting before the Oct. 15 civic election, mayor and police board chair Jonathan Cote suggested the board take Madden up on his offer to attend a future meeting, perhaps one that includes reports and information related to E-Comm. He noted that the board has spent “a lot of time” discussing some of shortcomings and challenges with E-Comm.
“We do have a representative on the E-Comm board (Madden) as part of the syndicate with the independent police force. But, to my recollection, we actually haven't interacted a lot with that that individual,” Cote said at the board’s most recent meeting. “And I think that's OK, when things are going smoothly, but obviously, there are some challenges. Having our representative on the board have a good heart-to-heart conversation with the board about the challenges, I think, would be quite meaningful.”
Chief Const. Dave Jansen said a meeting with Madden may be beneficial, particularly with a new board chair coming in. He said staff would work on setting something up for early in the new year.
Because the city’s mayor also serves as chair of the New Westminster police board, mayor-elect Patrick Johnstone will soon be taking on that role.
E-Comm handles 911 calls for many communities in B.C., as well as dispatch services for some police, fire and ambulance services in parts of Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley. In recent years, some concerns have been raised about delays in answering calls, including the New Westminster Police Department’s non-emergency lines.
In July, the New Westminster Police Department announced it would be working in partnership with E-Comm to transition some non-emergency call-answering to the New Westminster Police Department.
“We have heard repeated frustration from our community about extended wait times for non-emergency calls,” Deputy Chief Const. Paul Hyland said in a July news release. “We hope this measure will improve service delivery in this area while we continue to work with our valued partners at E-Comm on longer-term solutions.”
According to a report to the police board, it is projected that NWPD staff could answer about half of the non-emergency calls for service during the proposed 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. hours. E-Comm will continue to answer emergency calls for the NWPD.
In addition, community members will still be able to report non-emergency incidents online.
“Being available to people who need to file a non-emergency police report is extremely important to us,” NWPD spokesperson Sgt. Justine Thom said in July. “Receiving non-emergency police reports is essential for us to understand what residents are experiencing and where our resources should be focused. Non-emergency reporting needs to be something residents can count on, and right now public expectations are not being met.”
