Barrie Police Service budget grows with heavy focus on officer wellbeing

The Barrie Police Service is looking for more money from city hall this year as it works towards supporting its frontline officers more than ever before.

On Wednesday night, Barrie Police Chief Rich Johnston and Greg Ferguson, the board chair, brought the service's 2024 budget to city hall. This year's budget is estimated at just over $67.5 million, up 6.78 per cent from last year.

"The city's growth is happening; if the budget isn't going up, then they won't have the proper budget to be able to police the City of Barrie," Mayor Alex Nuttall said to CTV News. "I think where they landed at this point is a fair place, and our real goal over the next year is to be able to make sure those resources are placed in the right places in the city and they are used to ensure the safety and security of our residents."

Most of the spending is non-discretionary, with 94.6 per cent directed toward salaries and benefits.

During their presentation, Johnston and Ferguson highlighted the mental and emotional costs of policing, pointing out that police officers will experience between 400-600 traumatic events throughout their careers. That's compared to 3 to 4 for the average person.

"It is a tough, tough job," Johnston said to CTV News. "We ask a lot of those women and men in uniform, and this is a balanced approach in terms of fairly recognizing that but at the same time recognizing in a broader context that we have a tough financial time, and we want to be sensitive to that."

The service currently has 24 officers off on WSIB leave due to the mental stress of the job, with 15 having been off for more than two years. Those are officers not on the frontline but still being compensated, with Johnston saying they must continue to be supported.

This year's budget will bring six officers on board to help replace some of the two dozen currently on leave.

"If we can replace some of those 24 officers, it just helps alleviate the stress that our current officers are out on the road are managing, but how do we support them? We are very focussed on member wellness, and this is a huge step toward that, supporting that, where new members coming in will help support the workload of the individuals already out there," Johnston said.

Since starting his tenure as chief, Johnston has instituted pre-emptive education for officers on the stresses of the job, which is taught to all new recruits as part of their onboarding training.

The Barrie Police Service is also looking to hire four new civilian positions: a privacy & access clerk, a digital evidence management administrator, a communicator and an organizational wellness administrative assistant.

The chief says these positions are meant to alleviate some responsibilities from frontline officers.

Also included in the budget is funding for technology and infrastructure improvements. This includes new software for body cameras, more automated license plate recognition and expanded use of closed-circuit television cameras, specifically in the downtown core.

The mayor said he's been encouraged by changes over the last year.

"I mean, one of the examples that I always point to when I'm looking at whether the message is being received by our police department or not is the idea that they've moved from two deputy chiefs to one to allow more resources to be used on the ground and I think that's a great thing," Nuttall said.

While limited in what changes they can make, councillors will deliberate on the police budget during their meeting on Jan. 24.