Hamilton police ready to reimagine policing, while board rejects 20% budget cut

Hamilton police issued a statement against systemic racism Thursday, moments before the service's oversight board voted against cutting the service's budget by 20 per cent.

The statement says Hamilton Police Service (HPS) recognizes "that public trust is fragile, and the legitimacy of policing is in question."

"Our communities are demanding change and we are prepared to work with you," HPS said. "Discussions about systemic racism and how police respond to situations are important. These are complex and challenging conversations that need to take place – with all voices at the table."

The statement was in response to local and international calls to address what Black Lives Matter supporters say is systemic racism in policing. 

• Read the HPS statement.
• Read Chief Eric Girt's slide show presentation. 

Locally, groups such as HWDSB Kids Need Help are calling on the police services board to slash HPS's budget by 20 per cent and direct those resources to affordable housing, mental health, addictions and other services they say address the underlying causes of crime. Others want HPS abolished altogether and replaced with a more community-led policing model.

Chief Eric Girt told board members Thursday that he plans to hold a town hall addressing this call. He also said a 20-per cent cut would mean a decrease of $34.3 million, or 279 of HPS's 856 sworn officers. That would make it difficult for HPS to fulfill its core functions, he said. 

HPS is below the national median for number of officers per capita, and money spent on officers, while dealing with an increase in service calls, Girt told the board.

The average response time for urgent police calls in Hamilton, Girt said, is 48 seconds.

Some members said a province-led community safety and well-being plan, which sees multiple organizations working together to look at how services are delivered, serves the same purpose as the defunding movement, and it's already in progress.

"Community members want to feel safe, protected and respected where they live," said Pat Mandy, a member of Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation.

"We do have a viable vehicle in place to accelerate the process."

The statement mentioned the plan too.

"We have an opportunity to press the reset button in reimagining what policing looks like in Hamilton," it said.

Others said people want more policing, not less.

"For me, defunding the police is one of the most dangerous political and social movements in recent memory," said Chad Collins, board member and Ward 5 (Centennial) councillor. He moved the motion to look at a 20-per cent cut, but mostly to show people why it's a bad idea. 

Defunding "puts the public at risk," he said.

"We need to work from facts rather than fiction," said Mayor Fred Eisenberger, who chairs the board. If people spent a shift in a police officer's shoes, he said, they'd be "absolutely gob smacked" by what officers face.

Meanwhile, HWDSB Kids Need Help held a community teach-in outside Hamilton city hall to show how more community-based policing could work. The event included the Afro Canadian Caribbean Association, the Sex Workers Action Program of Hamilton, Environment Hamilton and Hamilton Health Workers for Alternatives to Policing. 

"Our work is not fictional," HWDSB Kids Need Help tweeted. "Our demands and desire to defund and abolish the police are real."

"Our movement isn't dangerous! It's fuelled by community, by love and joy."

Sarah Jama, a local activist involved with Black Lives Matter, says the statement "has no teeth." She's skeptical that the community safety and well-being plan will address the issue either.

"What we need to see is actual resources that are community driven," she said. "It shouldn't be up to the police to decide the solution."

For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.