The PCs say police vacancies are up in N.L. — are they?

Newfoundland and Labrador has seen a number of targeted shootings, shelter-in-place orders and increasing drug toxicity deaths, all in the last month.

These incidents have lately prompted the Official Opposition to raise questions about the number of police officers working in the province.

Progressive Conservative Leader Tony Wakeham brought up the issue in the House of Assembly on April 14, the same day a shelter-in-place order was initiated by the newly opened Mental Health and Addictions Centre in St. John's.

"We've seen this trend coming and we ought to be in a better position, I believe, than we currently are when it comes to staffing and enforcement," Wakeham told reporters after the session.

In that scrum and in the House of Assembly, the PC leader referred to a document the party obtained from an access-to-information request that said there were 94 vacancies at the time.

That request was made in October 2024, and Wakeham shared the findings over six months later.

CBC News asked both the Newfoundland and Labrador RCMP and the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary for the current number of vacant positions.

As of April 17, vacant RCMP police officer positions are sitting in the mid-50s, according to media relations officer Jolene Garland.

"Efforts to address vacancies continue to be a top priority," Garland wrote in an email. "Trends established over the last year through increased recruiting of new police officers and experienced police officers are quite promising."

One week later, the RNC told CBC News that it has 27 vacant officer positions across the organization, with 396 officers currently working. 

That brings the total number of police vacancies to about 82.

An April 22 social media post from the PC Party quoted Wakeham saying, "there are still over 100 vacant policing positions."

CBC News requested an interview with Wakeham after obtaining this data, but he was not available. 

The party offered either a written response from Wakeham, or an interview with MHA Helen Conway-Ottenheimer. CBC opted for the statement.

"As of July 2024, there were 104 RCMP vacancies alone," the statement said. "If the number is now down to 80, it is good news; however, the high vacancy rate is still very concerning given the seriousness of the increase in violent crime in our province."

"More importantly, my caucus and I continue to hear from residents all over the province who are concerned about drugs and violent crime in their communities," Wakeham continued.

The latest report from Statistics Canada indicated the total crime rate in Newfoundland and Labrador increased by five per cent between 2022 and 2023.

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