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Cape Breton Regional Police Service to undergo operational review, focus on overall efficiency

The Cape Regional Municipality (CBRM) has issued a tender for an operational review of its police services to find efficiencies within the organization, reported the Pioneer Journal at the end of May.

The request for proposals closes July 9. The tender document notes the Cape Breton Regional Police Service provides policing for all communities within the CBRM, managing about 70,000 annual calls for service.

“The chosen consultants will look at the organizational structure and staffing, shift schedules, overtime, operations, administration and policing costs. The document states that the focus is on overall efficiency and the work will include interviews with municipal and police staff, municipal councillors and stakeholders.”

The cost of the report is not to exceed $100,000, the newspaper reported.

“Last September, CBRM chief financial officer Jennifer Campbell said the municipality planned to proceed with a formal review of the service’s current and projected policing costs.”

Acting Chief Robert Walsh has said the police service welcomes the review and “expressed hope that the upcoming review acknowledges the unique position of the local force which has ongoing partnerships with two First Nations, the department of education and the RCMP.”

There are 166 of the police service’s 200 officers funded by the CBRM, the article continues. “The remainder are employed through partnerships, including the province’s Boots on the Street program ($1.9 million for 19 officers), and the joint federally and provincially-funded Membertou policing initiative ($900,00 for six officers and one support staffer). The service also has about 30 civilian members.”