Peel police are pushing for their largest budget increase ever. Some residents say it’s too much | CBC News

A group of concerned residents and organizations are pushing back against Peel Regional Police’s historic proposed budget for 2025. 

The proposal includes a 21.3 per cent increase to the service’s operational budget, the largest increase it’s ever asked for. 

It was approved by the Peel Police Services Board this month. Mississauga Mayor, Caroline Parrish, resigned from the board over the increase earlier this week, with her office saying in a statement Parrish is “not in support of the proposed budget.”

Brampton resident and founder of grassroots advocacy group Black Education Fund, David Bosveld, told CBC News the projected increase is unfair to taxpayers, especially considering the increase the service already received for 2024. His organization is one of seven community groups pushing back against the proposal so far.

“It is absolutely unsustainable to see a 21.3 per cent increase to that budget on the heels of a 14 per cent increase in 2024,” he said.

If approved by the Peel Region council, the 2025 operational budget increase would amount to $131.7 million — bringing the service’s total budget up to $749.4 million for a population of around 1.5 million.

For comparison, York Region Police have proposed a $441.5-million operational budget for 2025 for a population of around 1.2 million. The Toronto Police Service has not made a budget proposal for 2025 yet, but its operational budget for 2024 was $1.186 billion for a population of around three million.

Chief says money would help address rise in violent crime

Much of the additional funding would be used to hire 300 new officers, 55 civilians, and 10 communicators, according to the proposal.

In presenting the budget to the board on Nov. 1, Peel Police Chief Nishan Duraiappah, said the increase would help the force address higher instances of violent crime, decrease call response times and accommodate rapid population growth in the region. 

But Bosveld doesn’t believe more funding will result in lower crime rates. 

“We know from all types of research that the number of police officers is not directly correlated to any kind of a reduction in crime,” he said. His concerns echo a larger debate over police funding, which came into sharp focus in recent years, particularly following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis in 2020.

Bosveld pointed to a peer-reviewed University of Toronto study from 2023 that looked at the correlation between police funding and crime rates in 20 of Canada’s largest municipalities.

Melanie Seabrook is the lead author of that study, which found little evidence that increases in police budgets lead to less crime.

“There’s a lot of variability, but overall we didn’t see a consistent correlation between police funding and crime rates amongst the 20 municipalities,” said Melanie Seabrook, the study’s lead author.

Crime reduction ‘not just about policing’: study author

The findings challenge the idea that increasing police budgets guarantee a reduction in crime, Seabrook said. If the goal is to lower crime rates, more funding is needed in other areas, she added.

“It’s not just about policing,” she said. “Crime is really linked to socioeconomic insecurity. And so that’s obviously related to things like employment and education, but also housing, even early childhood development.”

Bosveld also believes the funding would be better used to address systemic issues that lead to crime.

“The best way to do that would be firm investments in health care and mental health supports and social services and housing and food security,” he said.

Tope Adefarakan, another Brampton resident, is also questioning the increase and is concerned about her community. 

“The reality in terms of the experiences of the Black community with the police is not one where there is a lot of trust,” she told CBC Toronto.

Adefarakan also feels there should be more transparency around how approved funding is used, noting that past budget increases have not resulted in less crime in the region. 

For instance, according to police data, Peel Region saw 35,800 Criminal Code offences in 2021. In 2022, the force received a 4.8 per cent budget increase and saw 42,832 Criminal Code offences. Then in 2023, an 8.2 per cent budget increase coincided with 53,057 Criminal Code offences. Canada’s 2021 census puts Peel’s population at just under 1.5 million. For 2022, Peel Region’s website estimates the year-end population was just over 1.5 million.

Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown sits on the police board and is in favour of the proposed budget increase. 

“We are cleaning up the mess of past administrations,” he told CBC News in a statement. “We have been doing this the last several years but it worries me that we are still playing catch up.”

Meanwhile, Bosveld says he and other concerned residents will push for an audit if the budget goes through.

The regional council is expected to hear delegations about the budget on Nov. 28, Dec. 5 and Dec. 12.