With Chief Girt

Police Chief Eric Girt

Recently The Hamiltonian interviewed Clint Twolan, President of  the Hamilton Police Association.   The interview can be found here.  As a follow up to that interview, we asked Chief Girt to comment on some of the things in Mr. Twolan's interview. 

Questions we posed to Chief Girt:

Chief Girt:

1. The following is an excerpt from a recent interview The Hamiltonian conducted with Clint Twolan, President of the Police Association(the interview can be found here http://www.thehamiltonian.net/2018/01/with-clint-twolan-president-of-hamilton.html

The question we asked was: What are some of the more difficult issues that the police association is struggling with. Why are they important, and what would you wish the outcome to be.

Mr. Twolan’s reply was as follows:

Hamilton is a unique City in that we have a variety of policing issues. Theresult is a need for appropriate staffing and in most cases, higherstaffing than other jurisdictions. Despite this, Hamilton remainslow on the number of police officers on a per capita basis.Hamilton also remains below average on the per capita cost ofpolicing. Striking that balance of cost and community safety isalways a challenge for the Chief of Police and their command staffand is something that the Association understands. Still, our focusis on the safety of our officers and their ability to provide theservice our citizens deserve. In order to continue this level ofservice, without question, we require more police officers. TheAssociation’s position is that we are understaffed and have reacheda critical point that must be addressed.

With respect to the part of Mr. Twolan’s statement, when he states : without question, we require more police officers. The Association’s position is that we are understaffed and have reached a critical point that must be addressed., and the dire set of circumstances this statement seems to depict, can we get your response. Do you share his concerns and do you agree with his assessment of the situation. What actions might be taken to address this issue?

2. Upon review of the interview with Mr. Twolan in its entirety, as can be seen here: http://www.thehamiltonian.net/2018/01/with-clint-twolan-president-of-hamilton.html , are there any comments you may have with respect to anything that was said, either in general and/or specific terms?

Chief Girt replied as follows:

Do you share his concerns and do you agree with his assessment of the situation. What actions should be taken to address this issue?

As a service, we are committed to public safety and preventing crime. As you know, we must always strike a balance between cost and community safety. Further, we remain dedicated to preserving the peace and by working with the community we serve. On January 25, 2018, Hamilton Police Service presented the HPS Board-approved budget to the General Issues Committee (GIC) recommending a 2.45 per cent increase in our 2018 Operating Budget. This was approved by both the Police Service Board and the presentation was received by the GIC. The increase means another nine staff members added to the service. These positions are a mix of both sworn police officers and civilians. Moving forward, we will continue to look at the civilianization of policing, as contemplated by Bill 175, Safer Ontario Act, 2017. For example, this year we increased staffing to include six Special Constables to collect and process evidence, which allows us to redeploy six officers back to the streets.

Unfortunately the service as a whole has not reached a point where it can claim to proportionally be reflective of Hamilton’s diversity.

We are proud that as a service, Hamilton Police is one of the best for matching community diversity. According to a 2011 National Household Survey, our service is 17.2 per cent diverse compared to Hamilton’s population, which is 17.7 per cent. This is second best in the country. We continue to work hard to ensure our service is reflective of the community we serve.

Thanks to Chief Girt for engaging with Hamiltonians via The Hamiltonian.