A new national policy could mean changes for the Yukon's RCMP.

'M' Division spokesman Sgt. Roger Lockwood said Wednesday afternoon that with the new RCMP backup policy being approved by the force's senior executive committee yesterday, the local division will have to examine it further before knowing what the exact implications will be here, such as hiring new officers.

'We're looking at it very closely,' Lockwood said.

Under the new policy, there must be more than one member responding to calls where:

there's violence or violence is expected;

domestic disputes;

where the use of a weapon is threatened, used or displayed;

where the subjects poses a threat to themselves or others;

areas where communications are known to be lacking; or

any situation in which it's believed more than one member will be needed based on risk assessment.

A member wouldn't, however, be stopped from taking action before backup arrives, based on the situation and how a member assesses it, notes a statement on the RCMP's web site.

An individual member could intervene before backup arrives in a case of a domestic dispute where serious bodily harm or death are imminent, it's stated.

The next steps will include a detailed implementation plan with contract partners and federal departments.

Those plans will include implementation dates, which, the RCMP note, could take some time.

In the Yukon's case, Lockwood said, that will mean meeting with the territorial government, which contracts the RCMP for policing in the territory.

The territory funds 70 per cent of the RCMP budget, while the federal government pays for the remaining 30 per cent.

Lockwood was asked whether that will mean having officers called in more often on their days off in the communities where there may be only two or three officers working at a detachment.

He said officers in the communities often end up coming in to work on their days off already, due to the nature of working in the communities.

'There's always someone on-call,' he said, acknowledging the policy could include the possibility of having two officers on-call in the communities.

He stressed, though, it still has to be looked at more fully.

While implementation dates will be set, RCMP noted a portion of the policy has been made known to members to help them start using it immediately, 'if and where possible.'

Currently, Beaver Creek and Faro are the only detachments with two officers, while eight detachments in the communities have three members.

While RCMP noted in the statement the policy has been in development for a number of years, the issue of individual members responding to situations has gained public attention recently.

That happened following this fall's shooting deaths of Const. Douglas Scott in Kimmirut, Nunavut, and Const. Chris Worden in Hay River, N.W.T. earlier this year.

The two young officers were killed in separate instances where they were the lone officer responding to a situation.