Lack of Sudbury police officers cited in report is 'no surprise'

Morning North4:19Fraser Institute: Sudbury Police force one of most understaffed

A new report from the Fraser Institute says Greater Sudbury has one of the most understaffed police forces in the country. We heard from one of the authors of the report and from the president of the Sudbury Police Association.

A report from the Fraser Institute saysSudburypolice are one of the most understaffed forces in the country.

And the head of the local police union says that has been discussed within the department for years.

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Report writer andLakehead University economist Livio Di Matteo compared police staffing numbers with crime rates for the Fraser Institute report. He said he hopes the study starts the conversation about policing costs in Canadian cities.

"I dont think it's an automatic licence to go out and hire. I mean, if you're below what's expected, it could just be you're very efficient."

Greater Sudbury Police said the numbers in the report are still being analyzed.

But police association president Randy Buchowski said the lack of officers shouldn't be a surprise for anyone in the department.

"That's been a concern ever since I started that we were always a little bit behind everybody else."

Because Greater Sudbury is so spread out, there are neighbourhoods where people are unlikely to see a police car, Buchowski said.

"There's just not enough people to patrol those areas. We literally run here, call to call."

At times, there is a backlog of 100 calls for officers to handle, he said.

But the solution isn't hiring more police officers. Buchowski said he'd rather see non-police work, such as dealing with mental health cases, taken off their plates.

"To hire more officers you have to increase taxes and nobody wants to see a tax increase, he said.

Our officers like being busy, but they like being busy with police work."

Greater Sudbury Police said it expects to have a public response to the report by the end of the week.