Saint John police drop meals for detainees to cut costs

The Saint John Police Force has shaved $15,000 from the its annual budget by eliminating meals for people in holding cells.

Detainees are now being given a nutrition bar and bottled water instead.

Chief Bill Reid says the force is using "best practices" and following nutritional guidelines when it comes to feeding people in holding cells.

The maximum amount of time anyone spends in the police lockup is 24 hours and most people spend far less than that, he said.

Alternate arrangements are made for people with special dietary needs, he added.

But Joel Hanson, a criminal defence lawyer, said the new practice could be challenged, based on the security of the person section of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Hansen said he is also concerned people with nutrition issues may not be in a position to inform police of those needs when they arrive in detention.

In many cases, alcohol and drugs are going to be factors, said the Charlotte County-based lawyer.

"The issue there is going to be whether you can simply ask a person who is coming into the system whether there's any health issues. They may not even be aware of the implication of that question because of their state of mind at the time," he said.

Meals still offered from RCMP

The nutritional bar practice began more than a year ago when the Saint John Police Force moved into its new headquarters at Peel Plaza.

It's one of the measures the department has taken to save money. The police budget is facing a $320,000 shortfall this year.

"We've had monies in our budget to cover meals. And we talked about where we could relocate that money in the shortfall," said the chief.

"And we said, 'There's monies there, so we can take it from there and add to the pile where we need it to be."

The New Brunswick RCMP still supply a variety of meals to detainees, depending on the day and on the detachment in the province, said Cpl. Chantal Farrah.

Food can range from a frozen meal or pizza pops, to power bars and waffles for breakfast, with juice or water to drink, she said.

But the Halifax Regional Police follow the same practice as the Saint John police.

Const. Pierre Bourdages said detainees are given a PowerBar Harvest Wholegrain Energy bar and bottled water.

The Saint John chief said he is confident detainees are getting what they need to stay healthy.

"Our detention is an excellent facility," Reid told members of the police Commission this week.

"But the meals... you're not going to get too heavy on the meals. We encourage them not to be here."