Cries to defund the Regina Police Service (RPS) are being made in the Queen City as a petition makes the rounds online.
The petition, which was created by “concerned citizens”, was posted on June 4 in light of the recent protests and discussions surrounding racism and police brutality. The hashtag “Defund The Police” has been trending on social media over the last few days.
Among the requests listed in the petition are a stop on all future Regina Police budget increases, a freeze on hiring additional officers and purchasing more equipment, and to halt the planned expansion of their headquarters across the street.
As of Monday afternoon, Evan Bray, chief of police for RPS, said he hasn’t looked over the details of the petition, but he’s aware of the dialogue that’s happening in his community and places around the world.
He noted how their funding is predominantly provided by the municipality, along with a large chunk from the provincial government. While the police service doesn’t determine their funding or whether there are increases or decreases, he said it’s important to understand what’s the root of the discussions taking place at this time.
“I think the discussion around police accountability is an important one because this loud voice we are hearing in our community and throughout the world right now is stepping up against police brutality, not against police,” stated Bray. “That’s an important distinction for us to make.”
Regina city council approved the RPS budget for 2020 at $96 million in December 2019 – less than a $4 million increase from last year’s budget. It’s also about 20 per cent of the city’s overall 2020 budget.
Information in the petition shows that Regina’s policing budget is more than what is spent in Montreal (11 per cent), Toronto (17 per cent) and Edmonton (14.5 per cent) for policing. The creators also note $85 million of the RPS budget goes towards salaries.
A screenshot from the Defund the Regina Police Service petition shows a number of requests including a stop on future budget increases.
Bray said the conversation around funding the police shouldn’t be about defunding the police in order to better fund other work being done in the community.
“Our police service is extremely busy. Our crime rate and our crime per capita in Saskatchewan and in Regina is one of the highest in Canada,” explained Bray.
“Yes, it goes right back to those social justice issues that I’ve talked about. But that presence and need for our police officers to be able to do this meaningful work is not going to go away. We have to find a way where we can do both.”
The creators of the petition recommend more funding to community organizations ran by Black, Indigenous and people of colour that rely on Go Fund Me campaigns, personal donations and small grants from the city, while providing services without weaponry and armoured vehicles.
While Bray feels his police service is adequately funded, he said their resources are in a state where they haven’t been able to keep up with the city’s growth.
“Our officers are working 24/7 and are having trouble keeping their head above water as it is,” he admitted. “If there’s a way to find partners to help us out with some of the social work we do, and we can focus on true community safety work, I think that’s a positive thing.”
As of Monday afternoon, the document has collected over 2,000 signatures.
