The RCMP's new backup policy will mean more work for officers in small northern detachments until additional members can be added, said Sgt. Larry O'Brien.

The new policy, unveiled Wednesday and now in effect, makes it mandatory for officers to respond in pairs to suicide attempts, domestic disputes and situations involving weapons or violence.

"From a member's point of view, there's going to be a lot more call-outs, there's going to be a lot more overtime," said O'Brien, RCMP media relations officer in Yellowknife.

"That's in the immediate future because the policy says we have to have multiple members at these types of complaints."

The burden will be especially heavy for RCMP officers working at two-person detachments, O'Brien said.

The new policy will not only cost more money, but could affect decisions such as whether the RCMP could afford to open a new detachment, he said.

The three territorial governments pay for 70 per cent of policing costs while Ottawa picks up the other 30 per cent.

The RCMP has been under pressure to change its backup policy since the separate shooting deaths of two officers in the North.

Hay River Const. Christopher Worden, 30, was killed on Oct. 6 in Hay River, N.W.T. after responding alone to a call at a suspected drug house

Just a month later, a 20-year-old officer was killed in the small Nunavut community of Kimmirut. Const. Douglas Scott, who had not yet completed his five months of field training, had been checking out a report of a drunk driver.

Worden's widow, Jodie, has called for changes to the backup policy since her husband's death. She wanted more than one officer to respond to all complaints.