Bikos: Pause $4M London police ask, invest in new community response
In March 2022, the London police service (LPS) announced its intention to seek additional funding for 52 new officers over three years.
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In March 2022, the London police service (LPS) announced its intention to seek additional funding for 52 new officers over three years. The police budget has increased 44 per cent in a decade to an operating budget of more than $137 million. This is 18 per cent of the total London budget compared to three per cent for housing and libraries and six per cent for transit.
As a former police officer, now a PhD studying policing, I support defunding the police and reallocating funds to stable housing, food security, transit, health and mental health supports, education and economic opportunities, and community building and connection. Investing in people and community means addressing root causes often interlinked with crime. Over time, a reduction in the need for front-line police response and thus mass police funding follows.
These are not new ideas, Black Lives Matter London, Safe Space and the Forgotten 519 are just a few who have called for transformative change.
The dominant news story this week was the health and homelessness whole-of-community system response to be presented to city council’s strategic priorities and policy committee on Tuesday. This initiative included 200 people from 70 local organizations who collaborated on intersecting crises of homelessness, mental illness and addiction. The LPS endorsed the system and has committed to working to implement it.
Yet, at the same committee meeting, it will ask for an additional $4 million to hire 20 officers and four civilians. Part of its argument is more complex calls for service, notably involving persons in mental health crisis, addictions and homelessness, are contributing to slower call response times, reduced public safety and community policing.
It may be true that in 2021-22 the police felt under-resourced due to an over-reliance on them as primary responders to calls related to homelessness, mental illness and addiction. But these conditions have significantly changed with the introduction of the new model that provides community-led, wraparound, sustained supports to address the needs of those in crisis. Additionally, in 2022 LPS reported reduced front-line calls for service through streamlining calls via alternative reporting, more efficient mental health-related hospital handovers and the community outreach and support team.
We need more transparency to make informed decisions regarding municipal tax dollars. The police provide a limited breakdown of how public funds are spent. More details regarding non-criminal code calls for service such as wellness checks, noise complaints and traffic incidents would also assist in our understanding of additional ways to reduce police as a primary response. Less calls reduce workload, improve response time, and decrease the need for more funding.
Despite decades of mass funding and community policing initiatives, the institution remains largely reactive to crime and hasn’t successfully addressed crime’s root causes. Are the police effective at improving public safety? Indigenous, Black, racialized people, 2SLGBTQIA+ folks, women, sex workers, those deprived of housing, living with mental illness and/or addiction issues are most likely to experience police violence, over- and under-policing and the spiralling impacts of criminalization. Data from 2020-2022 reveal Black and Indigenous folks in London continue to experience disproportionate use of force. The unfounded sexual assault cases, O-Week at Western University in 2021 and Hockey Canada are additional examples of the need to explore approaches outside of policing to address harm.
Council has committed to responding to gender- and sexual-based violence and anti-racism and anti-oppression frameworks. These commitments require properly funded, community-led responses informed by those with lived experience, not more investment in the police.
London police agree a large portion of their workload entails complex social issues that would benefit from a different response. Variables have changed since March 2022. Council must consider the harm and unsustainable nature of unchecked police funding and pause on allocating an additional $4 million.
Let’s invest more funds into our community to address the root causes of crime, a process that honours council’s commitment to reduce harm with a focus on dignity, equity and justice. If the police can’t operate on a budget of $137 million, perhaps it’s time to ask hard questions of what (and who) we prioritize. Changing course takes time and courage, but it’s also an opportunity to invest meaningfully in people and community.
Lesley Bikos, PhD is an assistant professor at Western University’s King’s University College and a former London police officer. Her areas of study include policing.
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