Police Seek Budget Increase To Hire More Cops
The Moose Jaw Police Service (MJPS) is seeking a 4.67 percent operating budget increase for 2022.
The increase of $582,223 will largely be used to fund the hiring of three new officers pushing the MJPS’s budget to $12,739,939 in 2022.
The increase in the number of police officers will allow the MJPS to deploy resources to “critical areas” that are:
serious crimes including gangs, guns and drugs
child exploitation and abuse
safety in public places
professional standards, quality assurance and community awareness (pubic relations)
The move will see the force increase from 61 to 64 officers.
In their public budget documents Chief Rick Bourassa points out that staffing the four key areas is a challenge and that Moose Jaw - even if the new officers are approved - will still have in relation to other Saskatchewan communities with municipal police forces the lowest rate of police officers in the province.
The MJPS has increased from 52 officers in 2013 to the present 61 officers.
In the most recent public accounts the Top 18 Paid MJPS members earned in excess of $132,000 annually. The list included MJPS members including the Chief, superintendents, sergeants and right down to 10 year constables.
The MJPS public budget documents point to a trending decrease in reported crimes, calls for service as well the Crime Severity Indexes (CSI). CSI’s are a weighted average of crimes occurring assigning a specific severity value to a particular crime.
At the present time Moose Jaw’s crime rate is below the provincial average but above the rate in Regina and Saskatoon.
The reported crime rate has been falling from a high of 12,705 in 2016 to 9,600 in 2020.
Moose Jaw’s dropping reported Crime Rate from 2016 - 2020 - MJ Independent photo
The drop in Crime Severity Index for reported crimes is below.
The drop in the Violent Crime Severity Index (VCSI) from 2016 to 2020 is pictured below.
It needs to be noted that the VCSI peaked in 2018 largely due to two murders occurring in the city that were tied to narcotics. In 2017 the MJPS told the now defunct Moose Jaw Times-Herald that the distribution of drugs - specifically Crystal Methamphetamine - was not tied to any gang activity.
The MJPS recently received $800,000 from the Province for 2022, the same amount as 2021 to help pay for policing.
The MJPS operating budget request will be reviewed as part of the 2022 City Budget which already has financial challenges due to the economic impact of the COVID - 19 pandemic on property owners.