SAINT JOHN, N.B. — The Saint John Police Force is in the process of generating new strategic goals for the coming year, and Chief Robert Bruce says efficiency is going to be a focus for the force.
At the Saint John Board of Police Commissioners meeting Tuesday, Staff Sgt. Sean Rocca gave a report on how the force implemented its strategic plan objectives, saying that all but one of the force's overall objectives in its 2021-26 strategic plan have been implemented, and that 26 of the 32 divisional priorities for 2023 were either implemented or in progress.
When asked by commissioner Michael Costello about the goals for 2024, Bruce said the force is currently collecting debriefs with division leaders about what went well. They're now reviewing the top four for the coming year and are refining them before presenting them to the public.
After the meeting, Bruce told Brunswick News that the force has been working on finding more operational efficiencies given the existing resources on hand.
"We're looking at a number of things to make it operationally effective so that we can serve our community best with the needs and demands that they're asking for," Bruce said.
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He pointed to things such as the force's alternate response unit, a program launched in 2021 that involves telephone responses from officers, online reporting, and having a front-desk sergeant to be able to respond to concerns when people come directly to the station as ways to reduce the number of responses needed from frontline officers.
The force also announced a change to its false alarm policy Tuesday, suggesting that police won't respond to a commercial alarm if a "key holder" contact is not available to attend, which doesn't apply to hold-up or panic alarms, or at residential, hospital, school or financial institutions. Bruce said there were more than 700 commercial alarms last year, with two per cent ending up as break-and-enters.
"We're still doing the patrols. If you're taking care of the alarm system, we're going to go," he said.
New hires and visibility
The police commission's budget increased by five per cent or $1.4 million for 2024, part of a $2.41 million increase to public safety in the city's general operating budget, which was ascribed to inflation and the cost of a new police records management system, according to city financial documents.
While final financial numbers aren't in yet for 2023, documents provided to the commission show a $1.1 million surplus, which Bruce said comes from employees on leaves, including WorkSafe NB leaves. The chief said the extra money will be "risked out" for new hires that may then be accounted for when other members retire.
Bruce said the end result of the force's efforts on efficiency will be reflected in more time for "the things we need to do" as well as visibility efforts.
He said they've seen success with a community visibility officer doing a day per week in each community, as well as having regular officers out in the community.
"We solve a lot of issues because of that familiarity," he said. "If we're running to and from things we can't do, we can't spend that time."
Work started on the strategic plan in 2021 and it was ultimately passed in 2022. High-level initiatives are organized in categories including organizational efficiency, community engagement, talent development, financial sustainability and brand management, and a dress and professionalism policy is the only one yet to be implemented, Rocca told the board.
The unit goals that were pending include resources for the major crime unit, which awaits the results of a staffing review, policies in support services for destruction or return of exhibits, pending the new record management system, and formalizing supervisor training at the public safety communications centre, which was listed as "pending staff resources," Rocca told Brunswick News.
