Police budget gets $3.4 million boost

Council approves spending plan, which includes $350K for armoured vehicle

Ultimately we realized that, with the budget being as tight as it was, we weren’t going to get any front-line officers this year.

The Regina Police Service (RPS) is one of the few city services to see a significant increase in funding this year, with council approving the budget sent its way by the Board of Police Commissioners.

The police operating budget, approved early during Tuesday’s marathon budget night, pegs total spending at $88 million. That’s a $3.4-million increase. The city will hike its contribution by three per cent, to $78 million. The rest comes from revenues and other levels of government.

Only Coun. Andrew Stevens voted against.

“I can’t in good conscience support this budget,” he said. “There is no correlation of the amount we spend on policing and the crime rate.”

Instead, Stevens called for spending on programs that address the “root causes” and “social determinants” of crime. He said it’s unfair that civic spending is facing flat funding, while police aren’t being asked to make the same sacrifice.

Citizens who came to address council agreed.

“Why do they always get what they ask for?” asked Terri Sleeva, representing a citizens’ transit advocacy group.

But police Chief Evan Bray stressed that he actually got “shut down” on some of his budget requests. He said the RPS sees a need for 34 additional police officers and wants a plan to get there within five years. He later told the Leader-Post that the RPS initially asked for eight front-line officers when preparing its budget.

“Ultimately we realized that, with the budget being as tight as it was, we weren’t going to get any front-line officers this year,” he told council.

Sleeva and others also opposed a $350,000 outlay on an armoured vehicle for police, included as part of the $5 million capital budget.

Bray told council that the vehicle is actually “urban friendly,” and more akin to a Ford F-350 than a tank. “Except for the fact that it’s got the ability to stop bullets,” he noted.

He said police are often delayed by the need to await the RCMP’s vehicle, and face delays that put officers at risk.

Other councillors came to his support.

“The kind of crime you’re facing now, with drugs and weapons, is different than what it was in the past,” said Coun. Barbara Young. “You need new tools.”

Coun. Bob Hawkins said police have made great efforts to rein in their spending. He rejected any push to cut from police to pay for other city programs.

“This is not a choice, this budget night, between funding the police service appropriately and meaningfully and funding parks and housing and roads,” he said. “Our job is to find the right balance.”