By Aaron Mahoney (@Mahones93 on Twitter)

Lethbridge Police Association rank and file disappointed with inadequate staffing on the front lines

Nov 1, 2017 | 4:38 PM

LETHBRIDGE – Lethbridge Police Association members have been asking for adequate staffing for front line policing for well over a decade, it’s a concern that has been frequently reported on, and now the LPA President is raising the issue once again.

Members were hoping that the promises made over the past three years wouldn’t be empty according to Jay McMillan.

McMillan says that assertions made by Lethbridge Police Chief Rob Davis to local media recently about new beats and staffing advancements has left members confused, anxious and disappointed.

“We’ve been profoundly concerned about the safety of citizens due to the inadequate staffing levels for many, many years and we took Chief Davis at his word when he suggested that front line staff were the cornerstone of any good police service,” McMillan said. “The LPA is particularly concerned with the possible misrepresentation of a recent consultant report on staffing needs.”

The report calls for 87 officers dedicated to the front line, and at least 21 actual call takers on each of the four patrol teams. 17 have been assigned to to those teams for Jan. 2018, but some have simply come from another patrol team or unit where they already existed as call takers.

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“The report calls for actual personnel to respond to calls for service in our community, and we’re worried that a shell game misrepresents the number of people actually doing the heavy lifting. We’ve expressed our concerns, and unfortunately we haven’t had actions consistent with the promises as there has been no change to the front line,” McMillan said.

Some officers don’t actually get deployed onto the streets of the city, and there will be only 72 officers dedicated to patrols which is well short of the recommended strength.

“Essentially, we’ve gone from five teams working the streets to four teams, McMillan continued. “No extra people, no extra resources, it’s a bit of smoke and mirrors and we truly believe the public deserves better.”

The average ratio of police officers to city population throughout the Prairies is reported as 191 for every 100,000. The 2016 census lists the population of Lethbridge, in the city, at 92,729. The Lethbridge Police Service currently has 170 members.

“I think our community kind of finds itself at a cross roads now as it continues to grow. We’re not yet big city Calgary to the north, but we’re kind of in between there and the small town that we once were. These are not brand new issues, we’ve been talking about them for years,” McMillan said.

As cities grow, so too does the rate of crime. That means more demands for police, and McMillan believes they have a responsibility to examine those demands and have some effective stewardship of funds and resources.

“We understand and appreciate that in lean times everyone has to work together to achieve more efficient success. It’s important, and our members are committed to that, but there is a process that we must follow in order to achieve it and there has to be some accuracy,” McMillan said, adding that process involves the Police Service, the City of Lethbridge the Police Commission and the Police Association all working in unison.

McMillan also touched on new start times in the scheduling and shifting between the LPA and Police Service. He says it’s a negotiated item, and to negotiate it out the parameters of the Collective Agreement, especially in the media as an attempt to circumvent the process is simply a bad faith tactic.

“It’s a concern because it’s outside the process for proper negotiations where a violation can have negative effects or consequences,” he stated. “We have been trying earnestly to find staffing solutions that coincide with shifting for over a decade.”

Although officers are frustrated and disappointed, McMillan says they have a steadfast resolve to ensure that the public finally receives adequate police representation while at the same time being cognizant of any financial constraints.

“The association is not really arguing that we need a bunch more money to come in, or that we need to hire 20 new people by January 2018. It’s just not particularly feasible ,” he added. “There’s a bit of financial responsibility that we need to shoulder as well. We need to work hand in hand with the Police Service to effectively provide front line services.”

McMillan admits of course more numbers would be great, and they did spend some money to bring in an independent auditor who came in and reviewed the police force.

“They made some recommendations, and we just want to make sure that those recommendations are clearly communicated to all of the stake holders and everyone who’s closely invested. From the City of Lethbridge, to the commission, to the membership, to the community and the Police Service. We want to ensure there’s nothing misleading, that what you see is what you get so we can get the numbers that are demanded for proper policing in the streets of Lethbridge,” McMillan concluded.