Hamilton’s police chief says the force needs upwards of 16 new officers to match recent staffing pressures.
At a Police Services Board meeting on Thursday, Chief Frank Bergen asked board members to consider additional funding to go towards hiring new Special Officers to offset some of the issues police in the city are facing.
Specifically, Bergen requested more than $460,000 for the new hires, in order to properly budget for 2025.
While Hamilton police’s budget for 2024 was slated at $214 million, some are asking for more officers on the front line to address safety issues, like delayed responses to domestic violence calls.
Safety around encampments was also addressed, with Bergen saying the Encampment Engagement Team had conducted 604 site visits.
“Police have experienced a 479 per cent increase in police events mentioning ‘encampments’ or ‘tents’ compared to similar events in 2019,” he said.
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