The Chatham-Kent Police Service is looking to boost its ranks to better serve and protect the community and look after the health and well-being of its officers.
Chatham-Kent Police Chief Gary Conn will be presenting its four-year budget to council Tuesday evening.
Chief Conn is asking for 43 new uniformed and civilian members over the next four years because he says officers have been stretched thin over the past few years.
The staff increase comes after an organizational review by Deloitte, a consulting firm, recommended 48 additional staff.
CK Deputy Police Chief Kirk Earley said the police service in Chatham-Kent has been operating "bare bones" for a while and it can work in the short-term, but it's not sustainable long-term due to officer burnout.
Chatham-Kent police currently have 22 uniformed officers off on long-term leave because of illness, stress, or other reasons, according to the chief.
Conn and Earley noted officers are struggling to respond to the high volume of calls and struggling with their health and well-being.
If council approves the police budget, 16 officers will be hired in 2024, with another 16 to be hired in 2025, six more in 2026, and five in 2027.
Earley said adequate policing has been provided, but it has been tough.
"We are running at what I would refer to as bare bones. We are a completely reactive service at this time. Some of the stats gathered by Deloitte show that 53 per cent of the time we are usually at minimum or below and require overtime to augment the zones." said Earley.
Chief Conn said presenting a lean budget over the past few years has come back to haunt police.
"Trying to always come in at at least inflation or slightly below inflation has had unintended consequences and we are now realizing those unintended consequences," Conn said.
Conn said police officers must now deal with complex social issues that they are not properly trained to handle because so many social services have been cut or reduced and there's nobody else to handle the calls.
"We have now become a default for a lot of the vulnerable or marginalized sector in our society who are suffering from mental health issues, addictions, poverty, homelessness," the chief said.
Chief Conn pointed out calls for service have doubled over the last 25 years from 38,000 a year in 1998 to about 80,000 last year. He said 80 per cent of the calls are for social issues and 20 per cent are for criminal activity.
Conn added police officers are also retiring earlier than before because of the heavier workload.
Conn and Earley said the current per capita ratio of police officers to a growing population in Chatham-Kent is below the provincial and national averages at 142 to 100,000 people locally. The provincial average is 174 and the national average is 183, said Conn.
Chatham-Kent police is also looking to increase its departments from three to four by adding a new training and recruiting branch.
Deputy Chief Earley said currently recruiting is being done "out of the corner" of various desks by multiple officers and too many officers "are wearing too many hats."
The 2024 draft Chatham-Kent police budget is pegged at $36 million.
On average, a fourth class police constable earns about $75,000 a year.
Chief Conn said the 43 new hires will increase the police budget by an average of 6.95 per cent over the next four years, which he said is the norm when compared to other similar police services across Ontario.