Regina city council approved $84,509,800 to cover the budget for the Regina Police Service Monday night.
This represents an almost $3 million increase over the $80.8 million budget for 2016.
“We experience a very significant cost associated with technology. It’s something that I think is quite often a hidden cost to policing,” Chief Evan Bray said.
Bray adds that with technology changing rapidly, this means they frequently need new equipment. This includes e-ticketing, license plate recognition systems, plus new in-car cameras and GPS.
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“Technology is a very large driver of the non-personnel side of our budget and where the costs are associated,” Bray said.
Personnel-related costs take up a vast majority of police expenditures. Of the $84.4 million budget, $74.5 million goes into paying officers and civilian members of the police service.
The current collective bargaining agreement for police expires at the end of the year.
During Monday’s budget meeting, Bray said that the service will be undergoing a review this year to find more efficiencies.
“In our case, what does the community expect of us? What do they expect of their police service? Are we delivering our services in a way that is acceptable to them?” Bray said.
“Going through that review often allows you to find some efficiencies where you have a duplication of services, and understanding ways where you can deliver service to the community, but in a way that’s efficient, and making maximum use of those taxpayer dollars.”
Part of this also involves finding ways for more officers to make court appearances during their shift and not have to use overtime to appear in court.
More to come
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