Money to hire more staff was at the forefront of Hamilton Police Service’s (HPS) 2025 budget request at the Jan. 28 General Issues Committee meeting.
The service is asking for a total of $227.07 million in the city budget, which represents a 5.7 per cent bump over last year or $12.2 million more than the approved amount for 2024.
“This budget represents what we need, not what we want,” HPS Chief Frank Bergen told Hamilton councillors.
Since 2016, the number of calls for service from HPS has gone up 21 per cent, Bergen told council. One-third of those calls are for social disorder, he added, a police classification that includes trespassing, mischief, disturbance, liquor and suspicious persons calls.
He noted that a growing population and calls about encampments are some of the reasons behind the increase. Data from HPS shows police are currently able to respond to 72 per cent of the calls it receives.
A 91-page document shared with council breaks down some of the major pieces of the overall budget. The service will allocate $17.86 million to sustain core services, like costs from collective agreements, utilities, insurance, training required by legislation, vehicle and facility maintenance, and staff benefits.
Police also have a legislative requirement to convert its 9-1-1 operation systems to a new model and update officer body armour, which will cost $2.04 million. In 2025, HPS will require officers to wear body cameras and will update its cybersecurity systems, which will total around $2.44 million.
Another $1.06 million will be allocated to Workers Safety and Insurance Board expenditures related to officer post-traumatic stress disorder.
Out of the $227.07 million budget request, $215.52 million is allocated for staff salaries, wages and benefits for its 1,261 staff members – and to add another 40 employees in 2025, bringing the total number of staff with the service to 1,301.
HPS says it needs more officers
“The most common thing we hear at a town hall meeting is, ‘Why don’t I see police?’” Bergen said.
The reason comes down to numbers, he said. There are 899 sworn officers serving a population of 620,063 Hamilton residents spread out over 112,710 hectares. In Division 3, which includes Flamborough, Glanbrook and Upper Stoney Creek, each officer on shift is responsible for patrolling 134 km of roadways.
According to data from HPS, in 2024 the requests for service outweighed the number of officers available to answer calls.
“We are in many instances treading water in a reactive versus proactive policing model,” Bergen said.
The Chief told members of the General Issues Committee that the number of calls for service has gone up, and to meet the demand HPS would like to hire 13 sworn officers and 16 special constables.
The service also says it needs five full-time digital management clerks to process video from a new mandatory body camera program, four civilian communications supervisors and a civilian race and identity based analyst.
Delegations on the budget are slated to continue through Jan, 31. The GIC will hear presentations from Healthy and Safe Communities, Corporate Services, the City Manager's Office, Planning & Economic Development and Public Works.
