Hamilton police plan to hire 25 more officers this year
The 2019 budget request is up 3.23 per cent from last year
The Hamilton Police Service plans to hire 27 new staff this year — including 24 more frontline officers and a detective constable in the sexual assault unit — as part of its 2019 budget request.
This will be the largest staffing increase in several years, said Hamilton police chief Eric Girt. The board is asking for eight new frontline officers for each division, with two members per squad.
Girt said the service needs the new officers because of growing workloads, as well as legislative changes around parental leave and PTSD which mean more members are off.
The poilce services board approved the budget request at its meeting on Tuesday — now it goes to city council for approval. The $166.4 million net budget would be a 3.23 per cent increase from last year.
In the past four years there's been a 47,742 hour increase in total time spent on policing calls — which Girt called "startling."
Girt talked about the importance of wellness for police members, as well as for the community.
He said he supports members being able to take this time for parental leave and PTSD, but it does have an effect on the organization.
The additional detective constable for the sexual sssault unit comes after an 18-month review of unfounded sexual assault investigations.
Since 2008, there's been an 84 per cent increase in sexual assault cases, with 548 cases in 2018, Girt said. There is currently a ratio of 78.3 cases per detective. The new detective would bring that ratio down to around 69, he said.
The new hires would also include two special constables for security at the new Provincial Offence Administration Courthouse.
With more frontline officers, Girt said police could spend more time on proactive policing.
The community can expect to see more police doing traffic enforcement and conducting ride checks, he said. He also anticipates reduced wait times for lower-priority calls.
Girt said the new hires will hopefully ease pressure on police staff and help with burnout.
Girt said that hiring more members will likely mean a reduction in overtime costs, but they would not see the impact until later in the year.
'Staffing is at a critical level:' police union
Mayor Fred Eisenberger, who was re-elected as chair of the board on Tuesday, said he supports the budget and that it will likely pass council.
The total budget of $178.4 million is offset by $12 million in revenue.
Clint Twolan, president of the Hamilton Police Association, said he's pleased with the budget.
"Staffing is at a critical level," Twolan said, and the new officers would be a welcome sight.
"We've fallen behind quite a bit. We've not kept up with the population growth in Hamilton, and changes in workload and responsibilites," he said.
Members are under workload stress, he's concerned about officer burnout, and the service is often unable to fill overtime shifts, said Twolan.
Twolan called the budget increase "really responsible," but said it's time for more help from other levels of government.
"I think it's time we see more provincial and federal money coming in to help the municipality pay for some of these things," he said, adding he will continue to push for more staffing.
The new staff would be hired in three waves, Girt said, and they will begin aggressive recruitment.
In the past year, they have lost 46 members through a mix of retirement, resignations, death and termination.
The service has been able to fill the gaps so far, Girt said.
Girt said people on the sexual assault review team asked for two to three more officers in the sexual assault unit.
He said he would like to have more detectives on the unit, but is trying to be prudent.
During the meeting, board member Tom Jackson put forward a motion that the board confirm its support for hiring another sexual assault detective in the 2020 budget.
Girt also said the initial recomendation was for four full-time special constables at the new courthouse. However, they will re-examine staffing needs once they see how the courthouse is running.