Police Ask For Increased Budget Against Backdrop Of Increasing Crime

Crime is increasing in Moose Jaw and so to are the budget requirements of the Moose Jaw Police Service (MJPS).

On Thursday evening Chief Rick Bourassa present the MJPS operating and capital budgets both of which are being hit with one time extraordinary increases.

On the operating budget side of the equation the MJPS is seeking an increase of 5.58 percent or $565,322 which includes $216,000 of financial services the City previously provided to the MJPS for free.

On the capital side of the equation the usual $70,000 the MJPS requests annually is up to $450,000 as the MJPS must pay half or $380,000 for a new air conditioning unit they share with City Hall.

In the end the MJPS is requesting $12,183,194 less anticipated revenues of $1,488,309 resulting in a net 2021 operating budget of $10,694,885, which reflects an increase of $565,322 or 5.58% from 2020.

During his budgetary presentation Chief Bourassa attempted to portray the force as striving to regain the community’s trust while at the same time attempting to fulfill their role as a crime prevention agency.

A highlight to the proposed budget is the hiring of two additional officers dedicated to preventing child exploitation.

The two new officers sought by the budget are “to focus clearly to protecting the children in our community.” Hiring the two additional officers will raise the number of officers in the MJPS to 61.

Additionally the two officers will be on the forefront to “reduce violence through gang association and reducing the amount of violent crime we are beginning to see.”

Despite having a crime rate that compares to the crime rates of Regina and Saskatoon, Chief Bourassa said the MJPS does not receive the same number of provincially funded officers on a per capita basis that other communities do. The lack pf provincial funding for police services in Moose Jaw has been going on for years.

At the present time the Province funds seven officers in Moose Jaw.

Four of the officers are part of the combined traffic services detail that spend 30 percent of their time in Moose Jaw, two are part pf police and a crisis team and one is for victim services.

Chief Bourassa said that the MJPS’s main job is not enforcing laws but also preventing crime.

“We enforce the laws maybe 20 - 30 percent of the time…are other time is spent preventing social disorder…preventing crime is a major part of our work.”

Despite the MJPS receiving ever increasing budgets the “crime rate is continuing to tick up” which is “very consistent with other municipalities.”

A major measure of the amount of crime is measured with Statistics Canada’s Crime Severity Index (CSI) which is a weighted measure of crimes in the community.

The doubling in violent crime in Moose Jaw from 2013 - 2018 - MJPS Budget

“From 2013 - 2018 our (violent crime) CSI has increased. They have more than doubled in the City,” he said adding the amount of violent crime has taken a major jump.

“We are not inconsistent with the rest of the country…it is likely a shift in what is acceptable behaviour. And violence is now seen as acceptable behaviour.”

Chief Bourassa said the MJPS is attempting to move towards a more accountable police service with a clear connection to the community. The MJPS was moving towards being more inclusive as a crime prevention strategy.

“People on the margins are often victimized,” he said.

Asked by Councillor Crystal Froese if the MJPS had witnessed any increased activity due to COVID - 19 Chief Bourassa said they had just like other cities had.

“We are seeing increased levels there are stressors there and they are obvious…we are seeing more and more of that and we are seeing more levels of aggression.”

The MJPS 2021 budget will now be discussed by Council as part of their 2021 - 2022 budget discussions.