Detectives fume over policy change for unmarked vehicles

The Ottawa Police Service has ordered that unmarked detectives’ vehicles in some specialty units remain parked at the police station when shifts end, leading to a possible officer rebellion over investigations they say will be compromised.

Officers in the guns and gangs, drugs, street crime and intelligence units have been allowed to take their unmarked police vehicles home, allowing quick responses to everything from offduty calls, meetings with confidential informants or undercover investigations. In a move expected to be implemented by the end of the month to save approximately $300,000 annually in fuel costs, the service has ordered that 53 vehicles remain parked on police property when officers finish their shifts. If a situation emerges that requires immediate investigative response, officers in those units will have to make their way to the police station to pick up the vehicles. Time covering specific targets will decrease, as will the overall time police can devote to an investigation per day.

As a result of the policy change, called a “burning ” issue by one officer, the Citizen has learned that some affected investigators have committed to turning their company-issued cellphones off while not on duty.

“It’s about the continued erosion of our ability to complete thorough and meaningful investigations,” said another officer.

Chief Charles Bordeleau, in defending the policy, which he said is in line with what other services are doing, said he expects his officers “to be professional and do the job they need to do.”

The decision, which is based on criteria that looks at the work the units are doing, was made by superintendents and approved by the chief and deputy chiefs. But senior officers are divided on the issue. Senior officers are also each issued a personal vehicle by the force. That policy was not currently reviewed.

Detectives believe police brass have handcuffed their ability to investigate crime that often falls outside of their working hours.

The critical part of responding to calls is to protect life and property, and patrol officers are doing that, Bordeleau said. The investigative units are called afterward.

With the move, the organization is saying those added potential challenges — delayed arrival on the scene of overnight shootings, lags on closing files, missed targets in the execution of warrants — are worth risking to save money.

But several officers suggest that the overtime costs, which officers have routinely waived filing in the past, will now add up for not only the force, but also the taxpayer.

Investigations routinely operate with what one officer called “donated time” — when investigators work outside their collectively agreed upon hours to do the things they needed to while not on duty. It’s a luxury that will fall by the wayside when officers move to claim the time that is owed to them.

Police association president Matt Skof said that while he doesn’t believe public safety will be compromised, he believes the force will begin to see increasing overtime costs.

“Maybe the overtime should have been incurred so the true costs of running these files could have been shown to the city,” Skof said.

Bordeleau said that if officers are working overtime they should be compensated for that time. “We’re not concerned with any of those types of costs offsetting the savings that we’re expecting to achieve,” he said.

Multiple sources told the Citizen the policy was another blow to what is already low morale in the service.

Bordeleau said he appreciates that it’s a change in what officers have known but he stands by the decision.

“These are tough decisions that need to be made and they’re the right decisions.”

Skof, however, would not underestimate the role car access has to investigations and morale.

“When you see a substantial change in a practice in a stretched service already, time becomes an issue,” he said. “When you’re removing time from an investigation, this is just going to add to the frustration over our resources.”

“We’re already seeing units stretched,” Skof says. “This is going to exacerbate that.”

When you see a substantial change in a practice in a stretched service already, time becomes an issue.