Police union sounds alarm bells about staffing at CBRM
The union representing the officers of the Cape Breton Regional Police Service says staff shortages pose a safety risk to officers and the public, but the police chief denies this is the case.
Sandra Mullen, president of the Nova Scotia Government and General Employees Union, said police are leaving the force en masse due to working conditions and recruitment is not keeping pace.
“Our members are not seeing their concerns addressed in a timely manner,” she said. “They are extremely understaffed [and] are expected to perform a number of overtime shifts in order for [there to be] some good service.”
An average shift is between 30 and 40 percent understaffed, and officers in Cape Breton Regional Municipality sometimes work 18-hour shifts, Mullen said.
“It is one simple incident away from what could be a serious problem for their safety and that of CBRM residents,” she said.
“Our members certainly feel that conditions have reached a breaking point and we need to sound the alarm bells that the CBRM needs to understand and address the level of severity here before it goes much further.”
Police Chief Robert Walsh said the shifts are not 30 or 40 percent understaffed and there are no concerns about the officer or public safety.
But about 12.5 percent of the workforce is off due to compensation claims, sick leave or retirement, he said.
“We recognize that our members are under significant stress and we have done what we can to support them,” said Walsh.
“We are making adjustments indoors and we will redistribute the staff we have so that there is always someone on the road ready to respond.”
In 2019, the police had more than 40 officers off work for various reasons.
Walsh said those numbers have dropped over time, but they’re creeping back up.
“They seem to be rising slightly and we think that’s partly due to churn,” he said.
“We now have members who are on the verge of retirement in their careers, so we are actively trying to recruit.”
Recruitment of experienced officers planned
The department has held several recruiting sessions in communities around CBRM that drew interest from about 60 people, Walsh said. The force is also about to launch a recruiting campaign targeting officers already trained and working elsewhere in law enforcement.
A marketing firm was hired to do that for about $5,000, Walsh said.
“We hope it will provide a good return on investment,” he said. “That’s relatively inexpensive compared to some other recruiting strategies.”
Eight officers are likely to start this summer, he said, and others have suspended their participation in summer training programs to ensure enough officers are available during the holiday season.
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