To address the demand for policing in the city, the London Police Services Board has accepted a request to hire 52 frontline constables.
The recommendation was brought forward by Chief Steve Williams during a board meeting in April, due to the "overwhelming demand" for police services last year.
"While a year-over-year increase in dispatched calls for service was not deemed to be a significant workload factor, the nature of front police work has evolved," Williams said. "Simply put, calls for service are more complex and of increased severity. As a result, our service to the community has suffered greatly."
LPSB Chair Susan Toth told London News Today that the board plans to work with the administration and the City of London to formulate a plan to hire the officers as part of a three-part motion over the next several years.
"Administration will bring to the board a plan for a budget amendment for 2023 that will allow for the 52 additional officers," Toth said. "Also, we're going to be engaging in the public consultation process for feedback related to the budget."
Toth said the number of constables needed has been factored in the gaps between police officers to the city's population, which has steadily increased over the last several years, along with service backlogs for non-emergency calls.
"We've been hearing about people waiting longer than they should for service, and we're hearing about the mental health of the police officers on the frontlines, that they're feeling burnout," Toth said. "So hopefully, this will tackle both of those issues, and the public will have an opportunity to provide some feedback."
Late last fall, Williams and the LPSB announced the dissolution of the Community Oriented Response (COR) Unit, as frontline officers working in the unit were needed for general patrol duties. Toth added that the reconstitution of frontline services such as COR is a priority.
A plan is expected to be brought back to the board in September.
