The Nishnawbe-Aski Police Service will be losing eight per cent of its officers next month.
The First Nation police service, which services more than 30 First Nation communities in Ontario, lost crucial federal funding following the government’s announcement that it would be letting its Office Recruitment Funding expire in March.
“We, as a police service, are basically in a state of crisis,” said acting NAPS chief Bob Herman. “We do not have enough funding to operate our police service effectively. We’re losing 11 officers because of a lack of federal funding.”
The $400 million was established in 2008 as part of the federal government’s tough-on-crime agenda with the intent of recruiting more than 2,000 officers across the country.
Herman said they can’t fill the 11 positions that would normally be covered by the recruitment funding, meaning the already stretched-thin police force will be hard pressed to service the remote First Nation communities.
“We’re looking at innovative ways of trying to get staff,” Herman said. “We’re looking at hiring retired police officers or officers that have been laid off on contract. But at the end of the day, you can only do that if you have the money.
He adds the force is trying to come up with short-term solutions to address a long-term problem.
The federal government announced it would be committing to funding First Nation police services for five years. Herman said that funding wasn’t negotiated and doesn’t know what it will cover.
NAPS operates on a budget of $25 million, 52 per cent of which comes from the federal purse.
Traditionally, wages and benefits make up the majority of a police service’s budget. But because of the costs to fly to remote First Nations, Herman said their operation expenses make up close to 30 per cent of the budget.
Flying someone in custody out of the community via charter could come with a $5,000 bill.
The First Nation Policing program hasn’t had any contributions or increases from the federal government since 2009. NAPS has 150 officers and received $1.2 million from the recruitment fund to cover the salaries of those officers.
Other officers are funded through the province or through other programs offered by the federal government.
“There’s going to have to be tough decisions but they aren’t made at my level,” Herman said.
