Policing between the Halifax regional force and the RCMP is far from integrated, growing “increasingly strained” and would take “significant transformation” to get it there, according to a study released Friday.
Clocking in at over 400 pages, a review and evaluation of Halifax Regional Municipality’s policing model — which was requested by council two years ago — was released publicly on Friday and will be before council at a committee of the whole meeting on Tuesday.
“There have been longstanding opinions on both sides of an argument that policing should be one unit within HRM, that is either HRP or RCMP,” said Coun. Becky Kent (Dartmouth South - Eastern Passage), who is also chair of the Halifax Board of Police Commissioners (BOPC).
In an interview Friday, she said that while it can be improved, working with both police services is best.
One of the first major points made in the study is that the perception that HRM has an integrated policing model is incorrect.
“HRM currently has a dual policing model, meaning two services operating in parallel as discrete service providers,” according to the study, which the municipality contracted to PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.
“The gap between what stakeholders expect in the policing model and what exists today is vast; significant transformation is needed to bridge that gap.”
This kind of policing model has been in place since amalgamation in 1996.
HRP generally covers the core of the city, leaving coverage of about 95 per cent of the municipality’s landmass to the RCMP. HRP’s budget sits within the HRM, but the municipality splits the costs of the RCMP 70-30 with the federal government. A deep review of the current model shows that the two agencies are distinct and independent, with their own management and operating procedures.
“There is little to no co-ordination of resources and limited interoperability.”
The study found this disconnection is at the root of many of the challenges with the current policing model.
Relationship needs work
The study found, especially through the proceedings of the Mass Casualty Commission (MCC), that the relationship between the RCMP and HRP is increasingly strained.
“The proceedings of the (MCC) and stakeholder interviews completed as a part of this study have clearly highlighted that collaboration, integration, and the strength of the relationship between the RCMP and HRP is deteriorating,” the study found.
“The events of the mass casualty incident on April 20, 2020 and the subsequent proceedings have likely contributed to additional strain between the two services.”
The study found that there is little to no co-ordination of resources and limited interoperability between the two.
Acknowledging the issue, during testimony at the MCC in August 2022, HRP Chief Dan Kinsella said, “I think anything we do to better communicate, to better interact, to be better interoperable, I think is a very good thing and important thing.”
The MCC’s final report released March 30 pointed to the “siloing of information between agencies, whether due to different database systems or failure to share information, and lack of effective communication between the HRP, the Truro Police, and the RCMP.”
Along with the MCC’s findings, there are other reviews and changes expected to policing coming soon: the Department of Justice is completing a review of policing standards, HRM is updating its Public Safety Strategy and the BOPC is working on the Defunding the Police report, which was delivered in January 2022.
Choices and pillars
The study’s authors wrote that there are two ways forward to improve the disconnected dual policing model: choose one agency or create a truly integrated model. The study’s authors recommended the latter.
They boiled down what it would take for the municipality to make the transformation into an integrated policing model into four pillars:
1. Strengthening governance by reimagining the role of the BOPC.
2. Integrating leadership and strategic functions.
3. Creating the capacity to have community-led services respond to non-criminal outreach situations.
4. Implementing fully integrated services with common policies and operating procedures.
Kent said the recommendation to reimagine the governance of BOPC (which was also outlined in the MCC report) is “great to hear.”
“As a unique model of governance in HRM, BOPC members have struggled at times with the model in relation to oversight areas, resources, training, and overall accountability to the public and budgetary relations with regional council,” she said in an email interview.
“We have worked within the framework that this legislated, but perhaps it is time to revisit this.”
She added that big changes would likely require legislation from the province and that aligning the board’s operations with metrics has been missing and would be welcomed.
According to the study, these pillars of transformation would require “significant effort and strong, values-driven leadership” but they will make a major impact with public safety while allowing HRM to address the root causes of crime.
“The recommended model of policing can be implemented while maintaining or reducing total costs of public safety in HRM,” wrote the authors.
“The recommended model presents an opportunity to truly transform public safety to deliver improved consistency, responsiveness and standards of service across HRM and improve transparency and accountability to the community.”
