Mayoral hopeful says non-profits part of police cost solution

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This article was published 29/01/2022 (1015 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

As the city ponders how best to fund the Winnipeg Police Service, a mayoral hopeful is urging them to instead seek contracts that reduce officers’ workloads.

Shaun Loney, a social enterprise leader who has announced he will run for mayor this year, noted the public is being consulted on four new potential funding models for police, as well as an option to stick with the status quo.

He argues that leaves the focus on rising costs and tax hikes, when the city should instead concentrate on reducing the demand for police service.

Police should “buy workload reduction” from non-profit groups, such as by entering contracts that would pay the groups based on their ability to meet pre-set targets, such as by shortening response time or reducing policing costs.

“It’s (time) for the police to evaluate what non-profits can do versus the cost of what they’re doing and then choose the (option) that is best for both the bottom line and public safety,” said Loney.

For example, he said police respond to thousands of calls each year involving people suffering a mental-health crisis, which can include transporting them to hospital. If a social service agreement were in place, staff trained to deal with vulnerable people could offer that support at a lower cost, said Loney.

Overall, police were dispatched nearly 242,000 times in 2020, so there’s a clear need to reduce their attendance at non-criminal matters, Loney said.

He noted the city partners with the Main Street Project, directing non-emergent reports of homeless camps to the non-profit agency, which tries to connect unsheltered Winnipeggers with services. That project can prevent some calls from requiring a fire, paramedic or police response.

“There is (a lot) that’s working and… we need to ramp it up,” said Loney.

Coun. Markus Chambers, the head of the Winnipeg Police Board, said police already aim to explore partnerships that address the high demand for service.

For example, he noted one pilot project pairs officers with clinicians to respond to mental health emergencies. The “Alternative Response to Citizens in Crisis” program first sends two uniformed officers to assess well-being calls, who can be followed by the alternative teams when it’s deemed safe.

While that project pairs police with other government workers, not non-profit groups, Chambers said other partnerships may also be considered.

“This is a direction that we need to take to combat some of the issues that we’re seeing, that are percolating in society today. We have to reimagine what community safety and wellness looks like,” he said.

Chambers said he’s not sure if that work would save money, however, since 85 per cent of the police budget covers salaries and benefits determined through collective bargaining. That cost also reflects a staffing level that is already spread thin, he said.

In an email, Winnipeg Police Service expressed support for the general partnership but declined to weigh in on the specific proposal from Loney.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga