WINNIPEG — The Winnipeg police cadets are on the chopping block if the Winnipeg Police Service doesn’t get more money from the city.
Police Chief Devon Clunis made that prediction at the Police Board meeting Friday.
They help direct traffic, secure crime scenes and patrol city streets, but their jobs are on the line.
“To maintain the level of policing we have today here’s what’s required tomorrow,” Clunis said. The police chief says he needs more money even though the police budget is increasing by $16.7 million this year.
RELATED: Winnipeg police chief Devon Clunis announces retirement
“This proposes the largest budget in the history of the City of Winnipeg,” Mayor Brian Bowman said.
But the chief says that’s not enough and is asking for an additional $2.45 million or else cuts are coming.
“In the vicinity of 80 plus, a combination of police and cadets all of that,” said Clunis, who says that would get rid of the cadet program. “Absolutely that’s a fact.”
The cadet program which is touted across the country was created in 2010 as a way to free up more police officers.
There are about 65 cadets and in 2014 their hourly wage was around fifteen dollars.
RELATED: Winnipeg police chief’s salary one of lowest in country
According to Statistics Canada, Winnipeg has the highest number of police officers per capita and has for years.
Frank Cormier, a Criminologist at the University of Manitoba says more police doesn’t always mean less crime.
“Other cities are able to get by with fewer officers per population so I wouldn’t be surprised if Winnipeg could do the same thing,” said Cormier, “it’s likely cuts can be made without compromising the safety of the people of Winnipeg pretty much like everything, it’s about doing more with what you have.”
The police department eats up a big chunk of the city’s budget and the mayor says they’re not getting anymore.
“The continuing increases to the police budget at the rates that they were being incurred are not sustainable,” Bowman said.
RELATED: Property taxes and frontage levy fees increasing for Winnipeggers: preliminary budget
City council must finalize its budget by the end of the month. If the police service makes cuts, they could happen before summer.