Judging from the latest crime statistics, Torontonians are safer than they’ve been in years. So why does the cost of policing keep soaring, especially in Canada’s biggest city?
There’s a variety of reasons, such as extra expenses associated with policing one of the world’s most multicultural urban areas. But other more difficult-to-excuse factors include over-paid staff due to exceptionally generous labour agreements, a flawed arbitration system that pumps up costs, and weak politicians who fail to resist police demands for more dollars.
This finally appears to be changing. Toronto’s police budget is fast approaching $1 billion, making it the city’s largest single cost. And Chief Bill Blair’s failure to find significant savings is thought to be the main reason his contract hasn’t been renewed.
Politicians taking office after the Oct. 27 municipal election should firmly support measured cuts in the police budget. And a significant budget reduction should be at the top of the agenda for whoever becomes the next chief, especially in light of declining crime.
As reported by the Star’s Wendy Gillis, gunfire involving injuries in Toronto, as of Aug. 31, is down 23 per cent from 2013. And there were just 28 homicides. That’s a 30-per-cent drop since last year and far fewer than the 51 people slain by Aug. 31 in 2005 — this city’s notorious Summer of the Gun. All that is just part of much a longer trend toward lower crime.
Toronto police credit some of the good news to the effectiveness of their crime fighting efforts, and with good reason. An increased emphasis on community policing has paid dividends. But dramatically lower rates of major crime are evident far beyond Toronto and simply can’t be explained by local police tactics. Theories abound, but an aging population appears to be the biggest factor behind a continent-wide drop in serious crime.
In light of this, there should be considerable room for savings. Given that about 90 per cent of police department spending goes to salaries and benefits, a staff cut seems in order. It will be necessary to take a hard line on wages in upcoming contract talks with the police union. And the province’s arbitration system — which kicks in when police negotiations are deadlocked — requires major reform.
Binding arbitration, as it’s currently done, results in contracts that are more generous to unions than other collective bargaining. In an opinion piece in the Star, commentator Michael Warren suggests several possible reforms including a provision that Queen’s Park require arbitrators to consider the ability of cities to pay when rendering a decision. These deserve action.
When police budgets are needlessly allowed to soar, in Toronto and elsewhere, it saps funding for other city services, including those helping the impoverished, children and others in serious need. And that’s not a welcome trade-off.