Hamilton police no longer responding to noise complaints, leaving overnight enforcement gap

Hamilton police have quietly stopped responding to overnight noise complaints that don't pose a threat to public safety.

Previously, a police and bylaw officer teamed up to respond to overnight complaints on the busiest nights — Thursday to Saturday, from May to September, and Fridays and Saturdays the rest of the year, according to a communications update to council in December. 

But as of two months ago, police stopped its participation because of "pressures and challenges with staffing," said spokesperson Jackie Penman, when contacted by CBC Hamilton this week.

"Hamilton police will only get involved if it impacts public safety," she said.

Without police support, the city's bylaw officers are no longer doing any noise enforcement after 1 a.m. on weekends for "safety reasons," the communications update said.

Team responded to 935 complaints last year

As of Tuesday morning, neither the police nor the city have made a public announcement or changed their websites — both of which direct the public to call the police's non-emergency line after business hours with noise-related concerns. 

Penman advised CBC Hamilton to contact the city about what the public should do if they have a noise complaint after 1 a.m. The city did not provide a comment at the time of publishing this story. 

Penman said this type of police work is considered to be "paid duty," when off-duty officers work with the city, and officers were not longer taking those shifts. The force has "realigned" its resources to maintain its services, meet increasing workload demands and mitigate what she said was an increase in the severity of violent crime, she added. 

Last year, the noise enforcement team responded to 935 noise complaints and laid 53 charges, primarily in the summer months, the communications update said.

In its proposed budget for this year, police have requested an increase of $12 million, bringing the total to nearly $190 million and comprising 18 per cent of the city's overall budget. Chief Frank Bergen described it as a "maintenance budget" at a council meeting last month.

But the ask is controversial as some residents argue the city should spend less money on law enforcement and more on social services. Council will vote on the budget later in March.