A report from consulting firm KPMG recommends civilianization of some jobs within the Sault Ste. Marie Police Service.
The report was delivered to the Sault Ste. Marie Police Services Board at its regular meeting Thursday by KPMG’s Bruce Peever.
“(Civilianization) is certainly something we’ve identified as a strategy to potentially address the escalating costs of policing,” said Robert Keetch, Sault Police Service chief, speaking to reporters after the open portion of Thursday’s meeting.
A dollar figure in terms of how much civilianization could save police was not immediately available.
Keetch said he believes there are opportunities to civilianize various roles within the organization without impacting the quality of policing in the community.
Keetch said the board would be looking at a specific initiative to save $150,000 right off the bat in the closed, caucus portion of Thursday’s board meeting and would be at liberty to divulge details of that initiative later.
Keetch said a committee will be put together to evaluate and implement the report’s recommendations.
That committee will include senior police staff, the Sault Ste. Marie Police Association (SSMPA) and civilians.
“I think all police services in the province and the country are being asked to evaluate the level of service they provide to their communities, and can they do it collaboratively with other, partner agencies,” Keetch said.
KPMG compiled its report throughout 2016.
Its recommendations include:
- an evaluation of whether some duties could be “partially or fully shared with the city of Sault Ste. Marie,” such as bylaw and parking enforcement
- using the optimum number of officers available to match demand and calls for service, involving a review of the number of two-officer cars on nightshift, a more balanced scheduling of vacation time for officers, removal of a second Sergeant position within each platoon, returning that Sergeant to front line service
- continued use of community hubs and the Neighbourhood Resource Centre (NRC) on Gore Street, which KPMG described as a role model for the rest of the province
- continued strengthening of partnerships, particularly with Sault Area Hospital in dealing with mental health calls
- “alternative response” for calls for service that are deemed lower priority
- that “community safety personnel” positions be created within the already existing Alternative Response unit, in which civilians would perform “low risk tasks,” freeing up sworn officers to focus on police activities that require their specialized training
- that police consider phasing out accommodated duty officers in the Alternative Response unit through attrition
- that certain units, such as community mobilization, forensic identification and support service units, be civilianized
“Community safety personnel,” Peever told reporters, have been used in other communities, such as Sudbury.
“They could (for example) transfer evidence from the police station to the courthouse, the transfer of forensic evidence,” Peever said.
“We think this (KPMG report) is a fairly decent road map to move forward,” Mayor Christian Provenzano told the board.
