Police budgets, car theft and the spectre of ‘public safety’

In today’s Big Story Podcast, when Toronto’s mayor presented her budget on Wednesday, the city’s police services got everything they had asked for, with Olivia Chow retreating from her original plans to fund a smaller increase. Across Canada, police budgets continue to increase by millions of dollars per year, as the associations representing the police effectively lobby politicians and the public — often with vague warnings about rising crime and public safety.

Ted Rutland is an associate professor at Concordia University whose research focusing on policing in Canada. “In this debate in Toronto, there was a helpful report that was provided that showed that there is no correlation between police funding and crime rates. And we’ve known that for a long time,” says Rutland.

So let’s look at the numbers. What is the correlation between police spending and crime rates? Why do police say it’s taking them longer to respond to calls? Will more officers actually improve the force’s efficiency? And is crime, including car thefts, really spiking in Canada right now?

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