The new Ottawa Police Services Board has signed off on its first police budget without any changes ahead of city council\u0027s final vote.
This year’s two police board meetings on the budget have been comparatively quiet, with roughly a dozen presenters bringing critical messages.
“I’m tired as everyone else speaking today is, coming here year after year, advocating for something that many of us have been advocating for,” said Horizon Ottawa board member Sam Hersh. “Common sense to spend more on preventing problems rather than reacting to them.” Chief Eric Stubbs said police service is also looking to fund a mental health support worker in their dispatch centre, which might help de-escalate callers and make a police response unnecessary in some cases. Stubbs is another new element in local policing compared to the 2022 budget, which was stickhandled by then-chief Peter Sloly.
An online budget feedback questionnaire received more than 500 responses, according to a summary report presented by the service to the board. Just over half supported the budget or said it should increase, with a need for more police officers being the most common reason why. Just under half of respondents disapproved of the budget or called for decreased police funding.
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