POLICE REPORT: END THE SILOS

Align social services, commission says

The Edmonton Police Commission is calling for all community safety agencies to work closer together in order to get better results from the $7.5-billion annual investment.

In a report presented to city council last December but just released publicly Monday, commission chairwoman Micki Ruth said the current model has police and social services working redundantly in their own silos and doesn't use existing funding in an effective way to provide the best outcomes for Edmontonians.

To address the issue, the commission is recommending all agencies operate under one umbrella of governance within the City of Edmonton.

Rather than the police commission reporting to city council separately of other city departments, as is the current practice, a new regulatory body within the city would be created to provide a public governance model for all programs that work in the social services space.

This would include policing as well as services such as housing and homelessness supports.

The police commission would still exist and focus on law enforcement services, including an expansion to govern city peace officers as well as portions of traffic safety.

“Because there are billions of dollars already invested in the human services ecosystem, the commission believes that funding is not the primary issue so much as aligning and integrating services,” Ruth said in a Tuesday morning statement.

“This would represent a major change in the governance of safety and well-being in Edmonton, but we emphasize this would not detract from the essential role of policing. Rather, it would allow a greater focus on the systemic causes (such as poverty, housing and social service needs) which create so many of the current pressures on the Edmonton Police Service.”

Following the public hearing on police reform last summer, council directed the commission to analyze all the money spent in the city's social safety net, not limited to police. A social impact audit conducted by Helpseeker estimated $7.5 billion in investments annually into community safety. This includes $2.1 billion to community and social service non-profits providing support related to homelessness and poverty and $782 million for police, fire and emergency first responders. On its own, the 2020 Edmonton police budget was $462 million, receiving $373 million from the city.

Responding to the audit Tuesday morning, police Chief Dale Mcfee said it's clear there are redundancies and overlaps in the current funding model and that the significant annual investment isn't being used effectively.

“It also represents a considerable amount of dollars that many of our vulnerable and at-risk unfortunately don't get the full benefit of because our systems are not co-ordinated,” Mcfee said.

“Simply put, we have been working in silos for so long that it's time to look at the structures that create the silos. The reality is that we've all lost sight of the bigger picture because we're preoccupied with our individual roles within our own community.”

Mcfee said the police service is calling on the provincial government to take immediate action by developing an integrated investment framework to better co-ordinate funding streams.

If the city moves forward with the creation of a new oversight board, Ruth said this could lead to a new community safety and well-being commission further down the line that would report directly to city council. A commissioner hired by the group would be responsible for the overall operations of the entity.

Mayor Don Iveson said he appreciates the work of the police commission in looking at ways to improve the current structure and better use existing funding. He said the city is hoping to use the funding more effectively by investing in housing for those experiencing homelessness, which will in turn reduce expensive health care and justice costs.

“I do think that there is an interesting case to be made ... to think about the city's role in public health and public safety differently in terms of coordinating prevention and also optimizing the balance between prevention and response — and that there is a governance gap there,” he said. “If we were properly empowered and if the resources from senior orders of government were better streamed to get better resources for people, then I think we can get better results for everybody.”

The public release of the reports follows the 14 recommendations from the city's community safety and well-being task force to reform policing and improve safety for all residents. The recommendations, ranging from a police funding freeze to the creation of a regulatory college for police and peace officers, were discussed by council last week. City officials are now working on the implementation of 13 recommendations and a review of the police funding formula is being undertaken before any future funding decisions are made.

City staff are currently reviewing the police commission's proposal and are expected to respond in June.