Chief vows to trim police budget

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This article was published 31/05/2023 (329 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg’s police chief said the service should be able to cut spending, as per the city’s demand, but he couldn’t specify by how much.

The projected police budget deficit is $12.8 million.

A city council finance committee report, based on data until March 31, 2023, suggested Winnipeg will finish the year with a $27-million deficit, the bulk of which is due to losses from city emergency services.

The Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service expects to end the year $7.4 million short, largely due to firefighter overtime and workers compensation bills.

The report projects a $12.8-million deficit for the police budget, assuming it cannot find $9.2 million in savings — the amount council has directed it to cut. The police service has lost revenue due to a drop in the number of traffic tickets issued.

Police Chief Danny Smyth said the service will “absolutely” find savings.

“Look at our history, we’ve saved $13 million in the last two years, it is within our capacity to contribute to that… I expect that we’ll do that as well this year,” Smyth said Tuesday.

“Our strategy, we’ve been up front about it all along, we’ve really tried to control our overtime costs, and we’ve demonstrated that… (and) we’re contributing to savings through vacancy management.”

However, Smyth said a significant amount of the police deficit is tied to city council’s failed attempt to alter the officer pension plan in 2019.

The goal had been to save about $37 million over four years of the 2020-23 multi-year budget. The move was struck down by an arbitrator in 2020, leaving the city on the hook.

“I’m not trying to throw anybody under the bus here, but it was all about pension savings that were never realized. So a good chunk of the millions they’re looking for were as a result of an administration making a decision they weren’t able to actually follow through on,” the chief said.

Smyth added that traffic revenue this year is contingent on summer construction, which typically increases the number of tickets issued.

He lamented the current configuration of automated photo enforcement — red light cameras and radar — as outdated, arguing that has played a significant role in the decline in ticket cash.

“We’ve had this system since 2002. It has never been upgraded, and we’re in exactly the same locations that we started in 2002. That would be like having a mobile phone that you got in 2002 and still expecting it to operate effectively today,” said Smyth, adding that renting out uniformed officers on special duty to work at retail stores has also helped drive revenue.

University of Winnipeg criminal justice professor Michael Weinrath said viewing tickets as a revenue stream generally doesn’t sit well with drivers.

“It’s one of those funny deficits, where the police really are supposed to maintain order, respond to crime, and they provide some social services. In terms of generating revenue as part of their job, that’s always been one that I don’t think the public has ever been really enamoured with,” he said.

“Over the years, people have gotten smarter about photo radar, and it’s not the revenue generator it was.”

He said some modern vehicles have automated radar detectors built in.

The 2022 annual police report, which was released Tuesday, showed drastic increases in overall crime, property and violent offences year over year.

Smyth said he understands the city needs to tighten its budget. He stopped short of saying he plans to ask for more cash to add officers to the current complement of 1,356.

“If you’re willing to throw more resources at it, you can have an impact, but we’re living in a time where we’re trying to balance our resources. Police are a part of that,” he said about the response to rising crime.

“I’d love to have more resources, and we have made a lot of adjustments internally to try to reflect what’s going on in the environment. We’ve increased our foot patrol downtown, would I like to put more in there? Absolutely. But there’s only so much internal adjustment I can do while still living up to the responsibilities that have been put on me fiscally.”

Winnipeg Police Association union president Cory Wiles said the latest crime numbers demand more officers and resources.

“The numbers clearly identify there’s a need for increased resources to assist with our front line,” said Wiles.

Weinrath said he’s not certain that adding more officers would do much, while the money could be better spent on root causes of crime.

“Are more police necessarily going to reduce the crime rate? I don’t think it’s going to reduce the crime, because police just respond to crime,” he said, adding that increased police numbers could improve clearance rates and the speed of response times.

“Even 10 officers, 20 officers, that’s probably over a million dollars, and you could put a lot of that money into mental health services and addictions services.”

erik.pindera@winnipegfreepress.com

Twitter: @erik_pindera