Jean Swanson: Cities should have more input into the police budgets they pay for

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A casual observer of Vancouver City Council’s spat over the police department budget might declare the police the decisive winner after the city was ordered to put an additional $5.7 million into this year’s budget.

But, as a city councillor on the front lines, I have to say that this battle is far from over. In fact, I’m seeing signs of a reversal not far ahead.

This saga began in December 2020 when city council, facing a COVID-induced revenue shortfall, decided to freeze the 2021 police budget. But, contrary to what a lot of people think, the city doesn’t have the final say over the police budget.

According to provincial laws, the Vancouver Police Board, which oversees the police department, has the right to appeal the city’s budget decisions to the province’s director of police services. In this case, Wayne Rideout, who is a former RCMP officer, then hired two consultants, one a former police officer, to investigate. Rideout made a recommendation to Solicitor-General Mike Farnworth, who concurred that the city must pay the extra $5.7 million that the police wanted.

So, a triumvirate of the police department, the police board and police services decided that the city had to pay the additional money.

My position is that the city should have found a way to refuse to pay the $5.7 million, even perhaps seeking a court order overruling it. When my motion failed, I offered an amendment expressing council’s opposition — at least in principle: “Council request the mayor write a letter to Minister Farnworth seeking clarification about whether municipalities have any role in overseeing police budgets that they pay for, or whether they are simply a rubber stamp, and if they are not a rubber stamp, how municipalities can have input into police budgets.”

To my surprise, that passed. Although the majority didn’t want a showdown with the province, they did want to know how the city can have more input into police budgets.

That is what city residents want. Back in 2020, after nearly 400 people signed up to speak to my motion called “Decriminalizing Poverty,” council voted to support replacing police responses with community-led services when dealing with homelessness, drug use, mental health, and sex work.

Some police work is dealing with mental health and homelessness issues when other community-led responses would be more appropriate and even safer.

Some police work is related to drug use. But this problem could be close to eradicated if the province would scale up the safe supply that people who use drugs and public health experts seek.

Housing and mental health are provincial responsibilities. Therefore, it is outrageous the province comes along and tells the city that it must pay for a police response instead of a community-led response.

This is where I notice signs of a political shift.

Other councillors made amendments that also passed. One asked the mayor to request more provincial investment in programs and services that would decrease the need for and costs of policing, including investments in mental health, restorative justice, and affordable and supportive housing.

Another councillor asked council to vote in favour of asking Farnworth “whether investments that the city makes to reduce homelessness, support residents who are struggling with poverty or mental health, and fund peer-led community safety initiatives, are understood by the province to be investments in public safety, and to clarify whether the city has the authority to choose to invest more in these services as an alternative to a police-centric approach, with the goal of having this alternative services replace calls to police.”

Farnworth, an astute politician who is sensitive to changing political winds, is also the deputy premier and an influential member of the NDP government.

I hope he is going to agree that we’re at a crucial turning point — a crossroads — and Vancouver City Council is starting to point the way.

Jean Swanson is a Vancouver city councillor.

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