Charlottetown council votes to add 6 more police officers — but dozens more are needed, chief says

The City of Charlottetown is dipping into its extraordinary expenses budget line and reallocating more than $260,000 to hire six full-time police officers from January to March.

Brad MacConnell, the chief of Charlottetown police, says the city needs about 30 officers but he's appreciative of council unanimously voting to add six officers in the coming year.

"We have made it no secret that there is a need for additional resources in policing here in Charlottetown. So, we are certainly seeing this as a positive step forward … we know these decisions don't come lightly in a growing city with every department needing resources," MacConnell said.

"It would go a long way to certainly getting back into a proactive stance in policing here in the city. Certainly we have been challenged over the last couple of years to deliver the level of services we've had historically here in Charlottetown."

The population in Charlottetown continues to grow and, with it, calls for service.

Over the last three years, MacConnell said, there has been an increase of around 7,500 service calls. 

City needs more money to pay for services, mayor says

There was much debate in the chamber around finding the money for the hires. 

Coun. Terry Bernard asked if adding police officers should be held off until 2024 budget discussions happen. He said he was worried about voting to give funding for a quarter of the year without more money in place to keep those officers hired.

According to Charlottetown Mayor Philip Brown, the funding commitment will be extended come budget time to add the officers permanently.

"This funding for six additional police officers was for the last quarter of this fiscal year. I made it quite clear at both standing committees you have to times that by four going next year," Brown said.

"If we go out and hire six new police officers we are not just hiring them for a few months. It's going to be a permanent position."

Coun. Kevin Ramsay, chair of protective and emergency services, told council that by adding funding for police officers will mean taking money from other places in the budget — such as the money allocated to pave streets.

Brown said he'd talk with the provincial government to see if the city could have a greater share of property tax revenues. 

"How do we find that money? Well we are going into, hopefully, a negotiation with the province on a fair, equitable tax distribution of property taxes," Brown said.

"We have to make our case. We need more of that tax share from what the province collects from residential and non-residential homeowners."

'We are doing our best to reach those concerns'

Most people in Charlottetown do feel safe, MacConnell said, but several people who live near the Community Outreach Centre on Euston Street have told CBC News they see increased public drug use, property damage, trespassing and don't feel safe in their homes.

"There are certain parts of our city that are impacted more than others when it comes to some of the issues we are seeing," MacConnell said, adding that police have put more resources into areas with higher service calls.

"We are seeing some positive results and community feedback," he said. "We are doing our best to reach those concerns."

The added police officers aren't intended to patrol one area, Brown said.

"During the campaign in 2022 I heard that in different parts of the city you never see the police," he said. "What's the issue? Lack of police officers."

The provincial government also committed to fund more police officers to monitor the area around the Park Street Emergency Shelter. It was one of a list of conditions city council put in place to allow the temporary zoning for the shelter to be extended for a year.