Thread by @NehiyawRob

At #yegcc a number of speakers called for EPS funding to be restored, however, a number of the talking points relied on misinformation or conjecture. Allow me to expand;

1 - Edmonton is one of the only, if the only, police force in Alberta, and possibly Canada that had a formula

https://twitter.com/laurby/status/1529292834288701440

2 - this formula was suspended in 2020, until Administration could propose an alternative. So that means any amounts anticipated in 2023 were done so with the foundation of a suspended formula. So EPS should not have anticipated 407M in 2023. So no cut in 2023.

3 - EPS budgets in 2020, 2021 and 2022 were not cut, or defunded, they rose steadily. In 2019 EPS received 345M from tax base, and in 2022 they received 385M from tax base. This is not a cut.

4 - During that same period, numerous private and public industries have had to pivot, make cuts and layoff staff. At the same time EPS has had a total gain of 2 officers. It may not seem major, but the City itself has had to absorb hundreds of layoffs through the pandemic.

5 - there was the example made of a Chinatown hub being talked and close to opening, but cancelled at last minute. One speaker attributed that to Council, this is not correct. Once funding is given to EPC, Council has zero say in how that money is spent. So EPC owns that decision

6 - There was also a call for more boots on the ground. We have seen EPS have the ability to hear that call. To suggest Council push them to do something is again misinformation. As clarified, Council cannot push EPC to spend in any way. So even if more $ given, no guarantee.

7 - A speaker raised issues around fires and the lack of identification of suspects. They cited privacy issues, however, EPS has little trouble using Twitter and releases to call for information regarding other crimes, what makes these so special?

8 - While there was some questions raised around starting at a number of 385M, that is not a total freeze. Other options include EPS seeking additional funds through budget processes. This is not a handcuffing of budgets, but an increase in transparency.

9 - According to helis.com, only 5 municipal police forces have helicopters. Edmonton, Calgary, Durham, Winnipeg and York. It remains unclear how many have planes. With a service package process, buying helis and planes would see increased scrutiny.

10 - EPS is 2nd in the country regarding officers per 100k ppl for Cities of over 1M people. They trail only behind Montreal. Compared to Ottawa, whose population is almost the same, they have over 50 more officers per 100k ppl.

11 - Speaker spoke of freeing up EPS to respond quicker to urgent calls, and tried to equate that to more money. However, if the budget is frozen, and the other organizations de-task EPS, they should be able 5o respond faster. This can be achieved with a frozen amount.

12 - While recent events are tragic, they are not felt by only one community. A couple of months ago, 4 people were killed in by police gunfire, including an innocent bystander. Our communities are reeling, and more must be done, but that does not require a blank cheque.

13 - Previous council had dedicated officers to the core when the arena was built, these officers never arrived. The issues in the core are not new, but require new solutions. Returning to a problematic formula does not guarantee a solution, but doing things differently does.