After taking April off, the Guelph Police Services Board return for a mid-May chinwag about all the business of policing in the city. At this meeting, we will get an update about what’s going on downtown and some end of quarter financial and performance reports. Plus, there’s a change in policy to discuss, and, as always, there will be the monthly report from thee Chief of Police himself.
NOTE: This meeting takes place virtually at 2:30 pm but it will be broadcast on Guelph Police’s YouTube page.
PRESENTATIONS:
Inspector Andrew Goody will present what results that the service has seen so far in terms of the additional support they’ve offered downtown. No report was included in the agenda.
Board Correspondence Report – There’s one piece of incoming mail this month, a letter from Chief Administrative Officer Scott Stewart about the mayor’s directive to have the City of Guelph’s 2025 budget increase – including those for local boards and shared services like the Guelph Police Service – come in at under four per cent.
2023 Annual Suspect Apprehension Pursuit (SAP) Report – Every year, the police service has to provide the board with a report about the statistics around suspect apprehension pursuits, meaning the times that police had to chase down a suspect. There were 38 in total last year, and 35 of them were discontinued in the interest of public safety, two ended with the vehicle stopped and the driver arrested, and there was one fatality in motor vehicle collision that was later investigated by the Special Investigation Unit (SIU).
Sponsorship Request: Canadian Association of Police Decision Governance Conference – This is one of those requests that come in every year, except that this year the CAPG is asking for a minimum sponsorship from $500 to $1,000 for their annual conference.
Member Appointments – In terms of new hires this month, there are two temporary civilian positions, plus a new First Class Police Constable.
December 2023 Financial Variance Report – Despite a $7,000 deficit in travel and training, and a $822,000 in overtime, the police budget still managed to generate a $36,741 surplus for 2023 that staff would like to see transferred to the Police Operating Contingency Reserve. As for that overtime, the staff report cites “An unprecedented number of homicides and sudden deaths occurred during 2023 resulting in an unfavourable variance related to overtime,” plus there were nearly 2,400 hours of overtime for supplemental staffing downtown alone.
Property and Surplus Goods (Auction) Annual Report – Every year, the Guelph Police Service makes some money by auctioning off surplus goods like computers and vehicles, plus property seized in the commission of crimes. Last year, GPS brought in $9,549 in surplus operating and capital equipment, and another $138,656 from the sale of old vehicles, which are technically counted in the capital category, the proceeds from which are transferred to the Police Capital Reserve. There was also $10,341 collected from the auctioning of seized goods and uncollected found property.
New Board Policy BD-02-010: Appointment of Special Constables – The most common type of special constable you may know is more commonly called the campus police. Appointing special constables used to be the responsibility of the Ministry of the Solicitor General, but legislation in 2019 moved that authority to police services board. Now, the Guelph Police Board has to ensure that they complete new memorandums of understanding with special constable employers like the University of Guelph to set out the terms and conditions to govern member employment in these areas.
Professional Standards First Quarter Report 2024 – For the first three months of this year, there were 12 new public complaints through the Office of the Independent Police Review Director. Of those 12 complaints, seven were screened out but five were referred to Professional Standards joining three other complaints that are still under ongoing examination. In terms of the SIU, their mandate was invoked twice in the first quarter, and they wrapped up two other complaints that were initiated before the start of the year.
Operating and Capital Budget Q1 Quarterly Variance Report – So far for 2024, all indicators are in the green, and even overtime is down when comparing the numbers year-over-year. But having said that, paid overtime is at 29 per cent of the full year budget, and the variance seems to be built on the fact that full-time equivalent positions are presently under compliment by one member and 6.4 civilian jobs. Presently, staff are not envisioning either a positive or negative variance by the end of the year due to uncertainties around crime severity.
Chief’s Monthly Report – As usual, Guelph Police Services Chief Gord Cobey will deliver a verbal report about the latest goings on at 15 Wyndham Street South.
Guelph Politico 