Thread by @laurby

Discussion on police funding is resuming this afternoon. #yeg #yegcc

https://twitter.com/laurby/status/1576953239635099648

Some questions to start about the report produced by CSKA for the Edmonton Police Commission from Erin Rutherford.

Coun. Erin Rutherford asked about the discrepancies in revenue between EPS and Calgary police. Asks @YEG_Commission if they've explored other ways to generate revenue, chair John McDougall says no but he can.

@YEG_Commission Rutherford has questions about the literature review done on the research about police funding.. It's pointed out that a lot of American literature sources were used because they were focusing on peer-reviewed.

@YEG_Commission Rutherford asks so if I look for Canadian peer-reviewed research I won't find it? Cal Corley with CSKA can't confirm.

@YEG_Commission It's pointed out, after questions from Coun. Tim Cartmell, that the conclusion that a funding formula is serving Edmonton is based on the PAST formula. That formula included efficiency factors (how it can be reduced) but this one doesn't.

@YEG_Commission Coun. Keren Tang asks if experts like criminology profs at U of A were involved in CSKA review.

Commission says no.

(Criminologist Temitope Oriola told me per capita funding is important but CSKA says it isn't) edmontonjournal.com/news/local-new…

@YEG_Commission Coun. Michael Janz asks about the CSKA report and the perceived conflict of interest because Chief McFee is the president of it.

Commission says CSKA was chosen with a sole source contract.

@YEG_Commission Two reps for commission answered questions by reading from prepared statements, which sound to be the same as the comments the commission made in press releases.

@YEG_Commission Janz asks if the CSKA report discloses that there is a percieved conflict of interest.

CSKA rep Cal Corley says no, that is not disclosed.

@YEG_Commission Coun. Aaron Paquette: why would an org that is contracted to do this work have difficulty getting some information?

Matthew Barker (commission) says the CSKA has direct access to 7 differrent police services. They are faster because they work with them.

@YEG_Commission Barker said CSKA can just call up the different police agencies because they know them, and they get the info informally, instead of having to do official data requests and sign off on them.

@YEG_Commission Some back and forth with Aaron Paquette and the CSKA and commission about why CSKA was chosen (if they couldn't get some info). Barket said they could do it faster.

I'll note again Barker keeps reading directly from prepared notes.

@YEG_Commission Paquette said he keeps getting questions from the public about the perceived conflict of interest with this report.

"Did no one stop to say this might be problematic in the eyes of the public?"

Barker reading a statement, reiterates someone from the Munk school is involved.

@YEG_Commission Mayor Sohi: this is the second report we had that shows Edmonton spends more per capita on policing, has commission done any studies to better understand this, or try to align our police funding to other municipalities?

@YEG_Commission "It's a huge discrepancy when you compare to Calgary and other jurisdictions?"

John McDougall reiterates that per capita metric isn't useful.

Sohi says he hears some biz say we spend a lot but don't have service they want.

@YEG_Commission Sohi: Have you done a line-by-line analysis on police funding to ensure we are getting value for money?

@YEG_Commission John McDougall: says they did a deep review (maybe not line by line) on all of their lines of business and how to better allocate funds.

@YEG_Commission Sohi: From 2010-2010, police budget increased by 60%. I don't see that (efficiency) in the money being saved/spent.

@YEG_Commission Commission rep again pointing out that they don't believe the per capita funding should be focused on, because for ex. Edmonton's crime rate.

@YEG_Commission Coun. Erin Rutherford is attempting to have the CSKA report removed from the agenda so they can accept admin's report to send a message. She says commission should look at its procurement process.

@YEG_Commission Rutherford: "I do think there are some inherent biases in the document I did read" and "there is absolutely other literature that is pertinent and relevant that was not included in this."

@YEG_Commission Tim Cartmell is concerned that the apprehension of bias is extending to people also involved in the report that aren't CSKA. CSKA points out the others involved in the report were subcontracted by them.

@YEG_Commission Sohi: Has no doubt about the chief's involvement & other's involved in this. But asks if the commission was aware of the chief's involvement in CSKA?

Matthew Barker (commission) says yes: "there is no conflict of interest because he's not a paid member of that organization"

@YEG_Commission Sohi: Real conflict may not exist, but did you think about the perceived conflict?

Barker said the commission has debated a percieved conflict or real conflict in closed meetings but they decided to go forward because of CSKA's expertise.

@YEG_Commission I believe Matthew Barker may have told council it's not their decision on hiring CSKA? (Will need to check my notes)

@YEG_Commission Aaron Paquette: this is going to be one of the tools we use to determine a funding formula, & council wants to fund EPS in an appropriate fashion. "If there is even the slightest whiff of a conflict of interest, that throws into doubt about the decision we can make"

@YEG_Commission Paquete says he's never been in a quandry like this before in his entire time on council.

@YEG_Commission Paquette: This put us in a tight spot & it's extremely frustrating. He isn't sure how he will vote because he doesn't want to lose info but this is a real problem for him.

@YEG_Commission Paquette says if the mayor was on a board that determined funding that ultimately went to his salary there would be serious questions about it, whether he is participating or not, & that standard should be the same for everyone who works in service of the public.

@YEG_Commission Tim Cartmell appreciates the apprehension of bias but he's concerned about the others involved in creating it & how it casts doubt on them.

@YEG_Commission A city staff member points out that receiving a report for information, or not, doesn't mean anything. It doesn't prove anything technically -- it is a symbolic vote.

@YEG_Commission Coun. Jennifer Rice points out that a lot of the other information they have on police funding & data is based on data in this report that they're considering not receiving for information. She can't support removing it because of that data.

@YEG_Commission Mayor Sohi: He appreciates Rutherford's suggested amendment & the discussion, but won't support amendment b/c of similar reasons to Cartmell. He has no doubt about the independence of MNP, Monk & others involved. He believes the chief had no influence whatsoever.

@YEG_Commission Sohi: (But) we have to be careful when we engage in the perception of conflict. "We need to do whatever we can in our capacity that there isn't even a perceived conflict"

@YEG_Commission Rutherford: The original motion asked admin to do a jurisdictional scan of police funding. There's good data in there, but the creation of data & thesis of "is a funding formula good?" is different from the motion that got them here.

@YEG_Commission Rutherford: This points to a problem of a lack of publicly-available data about police in Canada. If we have to have one organization with an 'in' so we can get that, it's a problem.

The idea to remove the commissions’s report was defeated.

The main motion (which is just receiving reports on the research about police funding) passes with Rutherford & Janz opposed.

Update here:

Council will NOT vote on the funding formula today. There's a presentation, they will ask questions, and then there will be a debate on Friday.

Andre Corbould is apologizing to council and the public for these reports being released so late. He said there's going to be discussions in the future about meeting deadlines if there's challenges to meet them.

City admin is giving a presentation on the funding formula. You can read that here. pub-edmonton.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ash…

I'm still quite confused about this formula, but city staff point out that the funding formula does create an upper limit for police funding --- if city budgets don't increase for other items, police will not get an increase.

I told the Edmonton Police Commission spokesperson and chair I felt it was important for them to speak to myself and other media about this CSKA report but they declined to do an interview in person and told me to email questions.

Also they did not answer my questions by email. Story edmontonjournal.com/news/local-new…

Story has been updated with answers received today.

https://twitter.com/laurby/status/1577435828741365763?s=20&t=tkIWwfU5O9_hB4xWlI7ZlA