…..but sit back and enjoy the game. You’re paying for it.

There’s an internecine conflict going on in the Toronto Police Service, and it’s likely playing out in other law enforcement agencies in North America.

Toronto is spending just over a billion dollars a year for policing, and there are parties working to trend this upwards.

That’s a lot of money for a city with a prolonged revenue problem, and both Ontario and its municipalities are initiating programs to revision the financing and operation of police services.

The province’s Safer Ontario Act replaces the Police Services Act, and while police oversight is its primary focus, and not operations, officers and the police associations that speak for them are touchy about any attempts to impose outside influences on the force.

So now, along comes the Toronto police “transformational taskforce” plan, a modernization process, on top of the new legislation. It’s expected to save $100 million over three years, a part of that directed to a hiring freeze. Those are not words officers want to hear. But, why should a skilled, uniformed and highly paid civil servant guard a broken water main, for example, when civilian workers can free up police resources for duties better suited to their training?

Yes, there have been challenges with staffing levels, and the difficulties and stresses that change brings. This is, however, a work in progress, and police management is pressured to stay the course on the one hand, while dealing with internal discontent from front-line officers on the other.

This is a battle some police employees have taken to the media, warning of low morale and threats to public safety. The chief though denies the city is not getting the service it needs, while acknowledging the turmoil of reorganization. This is a contest with an implied competition for community support.

turnoverarocktoday is not considered police-friendly, although it’s police culture that’s more often the target. Law enforcement bodies are a regrettable social necessity, but if we need them, at least let’s ensure they are under the people’s thumb at all times.