The study, Police and Crime Rates in Canada, said the cost of policing went up by 45.5 per cent between 1986 and 2012, while the number of Criminal Code incidents handled by each officer went down by 36.8 per cent.The Canadian Press
Policing costs and the number of officers continue to rise in some Canadian cities despite a decline in crime rates, according to a new study by the Fraser Institute.
The report, released by the conservative-leaning policy think tank on Monday, said between 2001 and 2012, police officers per 100,000 Canadians rose 8.7 per cent while crime rates during the same period fell by 26.3 per cent.
The study, Police and Crime Rates in Canada, also said the cost of policing went up by 45.5 per cent between 1986 and 2012, while the number of Criminal Code incidents handled by each officer went down by 36.8 per cent.
Using data from Statistics Canada for the census years 2001, 2006 and 2011, and controlling for local crime rates, demographics and other socio-economic differences, study author Livio Di Matteo said his calculations suggest some areas have more officers than warranted, while others have fewer than needed.
"That results in understaffing and overstaffing," he said in an interview. "That's one way of interpreting the numbers."
Mr. Di Matteo, an economics professor at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ont., used a statistical model to predict the number of police officers per 100,000 Canadians. He then compared that figure to the actual number of officers.
Saint John, N.B., Winnipeg and Windsor, Ont., are cited in the study as having the least efficient staffing levels. Abbotsford, B.C., at fifth place and Victoria at 10th also made the top 10 list of most overstaffed Canadian cities.
But Kelowna, B.C., was considered the most understaffed, followed by Moncton, N.B., and Ottawa-Gatineau.