Police budget cuts would threaten 120 jobs

[derran.m]

Police budget cuts would threaten 120 jobs

The Calgary Police Commission will continue to lobby city council to protect the police budget from cuts that would force 120 positions to be axed.

In an emergency closed-door meeting Wednesday, the commission agreed to push for the 2011 police budget to be endorsed at council's next meeting on July 19 — without the five per cent cuts proposed by city hall.

All city departments are being asked to find savings of $60 million to make up a revenue shortfall in this fall's budget. This would mean slashing the police budget by $14.8 million.

"That would take all of next year's growth ,which is 65 positions, plus cut into our existing authorized strength by another 55 positions," Chief Rick Hanson said after the meeting Wednesday.

A motion by Mayor Dave Bronconnier to pre-approve the police budget — effectively protecting it from cuts — was defeated by one vote in council earlier this week.

Hanson said he's cancelled two fall recruit classes because graduates can't be guaranteed jobs. The downtown beat officer program is also in peril.

"One of my big concerns is that our plan was built to address the needs of a city that is continuing to grow that has major challenges," Hanson said. "We've had some great successes with the initiatives we've implemented. Now the concern is will we have to back off on that."

The three-year, $800-million police budget represents the single largest chunk of the city's spending.

With files from the CBC's Mary-Catherine McIntosh

Not sure how to take this ... on one hand, budget shortfall = CPS crackdown ... on the other hand, CPS losing staff/not recruiting = less coppers on the road to crack down on everyone ... My opinion, smarten the hell up, there will be less cops but they are probably going to have zero tolerance for anything that can bring them some funds. My best to Phil and Dayglow, hope this doesnt affect them, as they seem to be 2 decent officers of the law.

[eglove]

hopefully it's 120 of the douchebag cops that get canned and not 120 of the good ones.

[masoncgy]

Hence why a serious audit of City spending needs to be undertaken... this is absolutely brutal.

[Buffalo Soldier]

Originally posted by eglove
hopefully it's 120 of the douchebag cops that get canned and not 120 of the good ones.

+1

[nonlinear]

these guys need to stop whining and figure out what they need to change in order to bring things within budget without sacrificing service. the University has been facing major budget cuts for several years now. i don't see why the CPS feels like they should be exempt from cuts during economic down times, too. they are civil servants - not some elite organization that is entitled to do whatever the fuck they want, no matter the cost.

stop whining CPS! you are no different than the rest of us.

[SlickA70]

Good.

[broken_legs]

Originally posted by masoncgy
Hence why a serious audit of City spending needs to be undertaken... this is absolutely brutal.

This.

Originally posted by nonlinear
these guys need to stop whining and figure out what they need to change in order to bring things within budget without sacrificing service. the University has been facing major budget cuts for several years now. i don't see why the CPS feels like they should be exempt from cuts during economic down times, too. they are civil servants - not some elite organization that is entitled to do whatever the fuck they want, no matter the cost.

stop whining CPS! you are no different than the rest of us.

and this.

[mx73someday]

Does this city have any debt? Why don't they just borrow from the unborn like every other government? Then when they default, they can just pass it off on the feds. If there ever was a crisis because of lack of policing you know the feds would bail the city government out.

[Tik-Tok]

Originally posted by eglove
hopefully it's 120 of the douchebag cops that get canned and not 120 of the good ones.

They're unionized, meaning the newest people will get cut, and the eldest will probably be offered early retirement bonus's

[Integra10]

if 120 police officers get cut anyone wanna hold a street race on deerfoot? there's no way they would catch us if they were this understaffed....

[Xtrema]

Originally posted by eglove
hopefully it's 120 of the douchebag cops that get canned and not 120 of the good ones.

They are unionized which usually means 120 newbies.

EDIT: Damn, Tik Tok beat me to it.

[derran.m]

Originally posted by Integra10
if 120 police officers get cut anyone wanna hold a street race on deerfoot? there's no way they would catch us if they were this understaffed....

[luxor]

Originally posted by nonlinear
these guys need to stop whining and figure out what they need to change in order to bring things within budget without sacrificing service. the University has been facing major budget cuts for several years now. i don't see why the CPS feels like they should be exempt from cuts during economic down times, too. they are civil servants - not some elite organization that is entitled to do whatever the fuck they want, no matter the cost.

stop whining CPS! you are no different than the rest of us.

[downbytheriver]

Not sure why they think they should get a pass and not have their budget scrutinized. Why are they special?

[4lti]

After seeing the cops in this city.
Good Riddance.

[Melinda]

That sucks. In a growing city we should be expanding our police force, not cutting it back. I have no idea why a recession should justify reducing the number of officers in our city. Just because there's less money doesnt mean there are fewer people.

[lellowrx7]

Originally posted by Integra10
if 120 police officers get cut anyone wanna hold a street race on deerfoot? there's no way they would catch us if they were this understaffed....

+1



hopefully this doesnt mean i gotta keep my windows down at all times now, tight budgets would seem like a good time to give stupid tickets for tint and such

[5hift]

So much wrong info in here I thought I would share...


`Chief Hanson is NOT firing 120 officers... he just won't be able to increase the force by this amount over the next 2 years. The Calgary police force has been on a recruiting binge since Hanson came here.

Our economy is barely lopping along. We're taxed to death already. Canada's crime rate (according to StatsCan) has been in decline since the early 1990's. The police are being vocal about this because they have a vested interest in their own jobs and growth in the police force.

Can we just make do for a while without starting a scare campaign?


Get ready for a police crackdown to show how much they need this budget, they have all kinds of new equipment and a cause.

Did anyone notice the crime rate increase dramatically when 15% of our police went to lend a hand to beat protesters in Toronto?`

[JustGo]

Originally posted by 5hift
So much wrong info in here I thought I would share...


`Chief Hanson is NOT firing 120 officers... he just won't be able to increase the force by this amount over the next 2 years. The Calgary police force has been on a recruiting binge since Hanson came here.

Our economy is barely lopping along. We're taxed to death already. Canada's crime rate (according to StatsCan) has been in decline since the early 1990's. The police are being vocal about this because they have a vested interest in their own jobs and growth in the police force.

Can we just make do for a while without starting a scare campaign?


Get ready for a police crackdown to show how much they need this budget, they have all kinds of new equipment and a cause.

Did anyone notice the crime rate increase dramatically when 15% of our police went to lend a hand to beat protesters in Toronto?`

Nice to see you 'correcting' other people's 'wrong info' with your own wrong info.

Do you know why the crime rate didn't spike 15% when 100 officers went to G20? Because when they left for Toronto, THEIR SHIFTS WERE FILLED BY OTHER PEOPLE. They didn't leave any holes behind. And that certainly wouldn't be sustainable, because the people taking those extra shifts would get burnt out.

And yes, there is talk about canning up to 120 CURRENT officers (a big part being the ones that are currently in classes, or just recently graduated), which is why the beat team would have to be broken up, to go back into the districts and fill the empty spots. It's not a 'scare tactic', it's reality. Of course anyone that gets 'fired' would be first in line to come back when spots open up again.

In conclusion, your breath really stinks when you talk out of your ass. Keep that in mind.

[Integra10]

Originally posted by JustGo

Nice to see you 'correcting' other people's 'wrong info' with your own wrong info.

Do you know why the crime rate didn't spike 15% when 100 officers went to G20? Because when they left for Toronto, THEIR SHIFTS WERE FILLED BY OTHER PEOPLE. They didn't leave any holes behind. And that certainly wouldn't be sustainable, because the people taking those extra shifts would get burnt out.

And yes, there is talk about canning up to 120 CURRENT officers (a big part being the ones that are currently in classes, or just recently graduated), which is why the beat team would have to be broken up, to go back into the districts and fill the empty spots. It's not a 'scare tactic', it's reality. Of course anyone that gets 'fired' would be first in line to come back when spots open up again.

In conclusion, your breath really stinks when you talk out of your ass. Keep that in mind.

Am I the only one to think this might not be a bad thing? From what I have seen personally lately there are alot more police officers in this city playing fast and loose with their positions. Maybe this will remind them that they are not supposed to get preferential treatment.