Police board chair seeks overhaul of paid duty
Incoming Toronto chief expected to look at officers’ off-hours private work
Police officers across Canada have been getting paid for years to stand around manholes and construction sites during off-hours.
But no one seems to know just when the practice first started, or where — not even those who reap millions of dollars every year from so-called “paid duty,” a program that allows companies and individuals to hire off-duty officers for various events.
“When we tried to pin down where these requirements came from, nobody could tell us,” says Alok Mukherjee, chair of the Toronto Police Services Board, which oversees the force.
From a thick binder labelled “Paid Duty,” he pulls a copy of a document from 1957 — minutes from a police board meeting that refers to setting the rate for paid duty.
As far back as the 1920s, Toronto’s then-police chief criticized paid duty, saying it would likely be rescinded. But today the practice has become a funding source for cash-strapped police forces, and a lightning rod for criticism.
In cities that include Montreal, Waterloo, Ont., and Calgary, critics are raising concerns that the system grants better protection to those with the means to pay for it, and questioning whether officers can remain impartial towards those who offer lucrative contracts.
In Toronto, where the program has been a political hot potato for decades, city officials are eager to cut back the funds doled out each year for paid-duty supervision of municipal projects.
Mukherjee also worries about what he calls the “reputational” cost.
“When people talk about police officers these days, it is interesting how frequently they talk about the police officer who is standing guard over a sewage drain doing nothing, slouching, holding a cup of coffee,” he said.
Base salaries of police constables in Toronto range from $63,436 to $90,623, the force’s website shows. Additional paid-duty earnings amount to an average of $8,909 per officer, according to Ontario’s socalled sunshine list.
Mukherjee wants to overhaul the program, including eliminating what he calls “rent-a-cops” — officers hired for events that aren’t required by law to have a police presence, such as Maple Leafs and Blue Jays games.
He also wants the city and the province to change rules that mandate when an officer must be on scene, usually to guide traffic, on larger roads that are under construction.
“I’d rather see a combination of special constables, paid duty and private security,” he said.
In 2014, Toronto police officers made more than $27 million for performing paid duties, with the service raking in another $4 million from a 15-per-cent “administration fee” and another $1 million for equipment.
More than 80 per cent of that cost is paid for by private individuals or organizations, which is why the head of the police union said the issue is not about finances since it doesn’t affect the police budget.
“There’s no economic basis to attack paid duties, so they’ve shifted to the reputational impact, which, to me, holds no water at all,” Mike McCormack said. “When we have officers who are downtown or in the city to improve traffic flow, it actually increases our reputation.”
Mukherjee doesn’t agree. The police board has the power to set guidelines on paid duty, he said, but change must come from the incoming police chief, Mark Saunders.
A spokesman for Saunders said paid duty is among the issues the new chief will tackle once he’s sworn in, but would not elaborate further.
A recent report by the Association of Municipalities of Ontario recommended some of the specific functions of paid-duty officers be trans- ferred to civilians or other security providers.
“This could include court security and prisoner transportation, data entry, accident reporting, burglary investigations (provided the burglary is no longer in progress) and forensics, among other functions,” the report states.
A few years ago, ethical concerns prompted Waterloo’s then-police chief to step in after business owners in the city’s bar area started hiring paid-duty police officers to patrol on weekend nights.
There’s a different model in Vancouver: Off-duty officers can still pick up paid shifts to guard Vancouver Canucks hockey games or other large events, but cops do not handle traffic at construction sites. Instead, civilians known as special constables are used to help guide traffic. The cost is significantly cheaper. “It would be very rare to have a police officer at a construction site — we have a traffic authority if we need someone other than the flag person,” said Vancouver police spokesman Const. Brian Montague.
“Basically, this is an on-call position, on a part-time basis. These are teachers, veterinarians, people who want to help out, but this is not a full-time job.”
In 2011, Toronto’s auditor general recommended the model used by Vancouver.