Halifax police board endorses plan to deal with growing number of long-term absences

The Halifax Board of Police Commissioners has voted to endorse the recommendations made in a human resources study on understaffing, long-term absences and mental health claims at Halifax Regional Police.

The report, which has been in the works for a year, defined long-term absences as being away from the job 30 days or longer.

It showed a more than 259 per cent rise in long-term absence hours between Jan. 1, 2011, to Dec. 13, 2022. Many of those absences, the report noted, were due to workplace injuries which have increased over the past 10 years.

Melanie Gibson, a human resources manager with the municipality, said during her presentation on Thursday it was difficult to pin down the exact cause of the increase. Possibilities include legislative changes — such as benefits for post-traumatic stress disorder becoming more accessible in 2014 and 2018 — or the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We turned to the research to identify potential factors ... so burnout was one, overworked employees — which covers not just excessive hours but also doing more with your time than you used to — job stressors ... and lack of early detection," Gibson told the commission.

Gibson said HRP is able to detect some mental health problems at an early stage, but it's not widespread.

Some recommendations in the report included:

• Consistently collecting data when staff are called in to fill regular shifts or if services have to be modified because of staffing shortages. 
• Developing a workforce plan for cadet classes and experienced officer recruitment that addresses upcoming vacancies like anticipated long-term absences.
• Assessing how effective a reintegration program was after a year and ensure the program has support needed to be successful, like staff and expertise. An effort must be made to make employees aware of this program.
• Formalizing a return-to-work program with measurable outcomes and success.

Some long-term recommendations include focusing on prevention. This includes developing a mental health strategy to detect problems and provide early intervention and support for employees who are on sick leave.

Halifax police Chief Dan Kinsella had previously asked the board for $628,000 to fund five new positions, including a new detective for the hate-crime unit and an in-house psychologist.

Although the board voted that down, Halifax councillors later decided to advance the idea of funding two of those positions for a final decision at the end of March.

A few amendments were made before the report and its recommendations were endorsed. Commissioner Lisa Blackburn said the police union should be consulted.