Police budget mean officers won't get training, union says, but chief disagrees
Up to 30 officers missing out on course about missing, exploited children, Maurice Sabourin says
The head of Winnipeg's police union says city austerity measures are preventing police from attending a child protection conference, but the police chief says the service is operating as usual.
Winnipeg Police Association president Maurice Sabourin said when a conference into missing and exploited children comes to the city later this month, many members of a specialized police unit won't be able to attend because of cuts to the training budget.
"We have very dedicated individuals that want to do the best they can for the citizens of Winnipeg, but when budget cuts result in training decreases that causes us great concern," Sabourin said on Friday.
"It's probably about a third of the unit would benefit greatly from attending that course, especially when you are dealing with missing children and exploited children. They are very vulnerable people within society and I think it's very important that our special investigations division is as best trained as possible."
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The Canadian Centre for Child Protection will hold the 17th annual Missing and Exploited Children Training Conference in Winnipeg and 25 to 30 members of the Winnipeg specialized investigation division will not be able to attend. While 15 members are going to the conference, Sabourin said it's not as easy as passing the information along to colleagues.
"It would almost be the same as saying only half of you have to take driver's training and the rest of you can learn from the others. It's very crucial and I think it's very important training," he said.
However, police Chief Danny Smyth said while they send officers to the conference each year, it's typically not the whole unit.
"We like to take opportunities to have our members train in different venues and with different people and expertise," he said.
Some members of the unit will head to Ottawa for training this year instead of the conference, Smyth said.
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In November, Mayor Brian Bowman's 2017 spending plans included a $288-million budget for police services — a 1.3 per cent increase. A CBC News analysis of operational budgets for the City of Winnipeg found the police service's slice of the pie jumped from 16.9 per cent of total expenditures in 2000 to nearly 27 per cent in March 2016.
Sabourin said the 1.3 per cent increase isn't enough and has resulted in cuts.
"We started to see … for the first time that the service went into the capital side of the budget, which basically is your training, your equipment and your buildings," he said.
"And that was the first time that they had ever done that to try and come into line with what the mayor wanted as far as zero increase in taxes."
Far-reaching issue: Sabourin
The recent training cuts are just one example of what has become a far-reaching issue, he said.
Search warrant-drafting courses have been delayed or cancelled, recruit classes are running less frequently and there are fewer officers on the streets, he said.
"We have constantly been advocating that you need well-trained members on the street and you need those boots on the street to make sure that the service to the citizens of Winnipeg is maintained," Sabourin said.
Manitoba's child-welfare system has been criticized across the country, particularly after the death of 15-year-old Tina Fontaine, whose body was pulled from the Red River in Winnipeg on Aug. 17, 2014, eight days after she was reported missing.
"Missing and exploited children eventually turn into murdered and missing women. That's the unfortunate reality," Sabouin said.
Smyth said there is a mandatory number of officers that are on the streets and it is included in the collective agreement. While numbers on platoons can fluctuate because of situations like retirement, Smyth added police are "not dealing with shortages that are out of the ordinary."