Edmonton police say they need more officers to keep up with the city’s growing population. But as Kent Morrison reports, mayor Don Iveson says it’s time for the province to pay its fair share.
EDMONTON — Mayor Don Iveson says it’s time for the provincial government to step up when it comes to funding police resources.
“I don’t care what the price of oil is, this province is better than that and the provincial government needs to figure out its own fiscal situation,” said a heated Iveson.
The comments came after city budget deliberations Thursday, where Police Chief Rod Knecht asked for more money to pay for 84 new officers next year. With a growing population to keep up with, Iveson believes it’s time for the Alberta government to invest in policing and crime prevention.
“The practical first step that they can take in recognizing the load that Edmonton bears for northern Alberta around policing is to give us some support for community safety,” said Iveson.
Hoping to add 400 positions over the next four years, Edmonton police say they’re struggling to keep up with the demands of a growing city.
“We’re under a lot of pressure right now,” said Knecht. “Calls for service are going up … I think there’s a segment of crime we’re not dealing with just because of the pressures on the front line right now.
“I think there’s huge frauds that are going on that we just don’t get the time to address,” he explained. “There’s a lot of white collar crime that tends to fly under the radar, that is victimizing a lot of people in this community, that we need to spend more time on.”
While he knows there’s only so much money to go around, Knecht says above all, they need more people in uniform. The Edmonton Police Service is seeking a $7.4 million budget increase in 2015. The entire amount would account for 15.4 per cent of the city’s operating budget.
“I wouldn’t conclude for a minute that council is actually ready to fund this need out of property taxes,” said Iveson.
Since 2008, the police budget has increased 55 per cent, an average increase of 6.5 per cent each year. Iveson says that can’t continue.
“To hammer taxpayers with a significant increase in property taxes to pay for policing when we’re picking up the pieces for northern Alberta just simply isn’t fair.”
Iveson has made a submission to the province in relation to its 2015 budget.
A decision on how much money the EPS will receive has not yet been made. The city’s operating budget talks are expected to continue into next week.
With files from Kent Morrison, Global News.
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