The fees charged for RCMP criminal record checks for people in the Greater Trail area will increase on Feb. 1 to $50 for employment-related checks and $20 for volunteers and students.
The fee for taking fingerprints will remain at $25.
The RCMP report that the number of organizations requiring criminal record checks for individuals in certain jobs or volunteer positions “has grown astronomically over the past several years.”
“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,” said Insp. Nick Romanchuck, the officer in Ccarge of the Kootenay Boundary Regional Detachment.
Several years ago, fees for record checks were implemented by the City of Trail to directly fund a support position to complete these checks for people in the Greater Trail area. The RCMP now find the fees to be insufficient to meet the increased demand and need to increase their administrative resources “to continue to provide a quality service.”
“Collecting fees for the completion of criminal record checks is one way for us to do that,” Romanchuck said.
On Feb. 1, these fees will begin to be charged by the detachment in Grand Forks and Midway as well. For more information, contact Insp. Nick Romanchuk at (250) 354-5172.
/Rossland News