THUNDER BAY — Facing increasing demands for service and ongoing budgetary pressures, the Thunder Bay Police Service is looking for advice.
It's hiring an outside consultant to assess its processes, practices, staffing and organization and make recommendations for streamlining and modernizing its operations.
The consultant will analyze human resources gaps and forecasting, and recommend ways "to maintain high levels of organizational effectiveness and efficiency," according to a request for proposals posted by the City of Thunder Bay on behalf of TBPS.
"TBPS aims to ensure that the system structure remains current and able to meet increasing expectations, workload pressures, staffing challenges, changing priorities, provincial legislation and program changes," the RFP states. "The final recommendations must facilitate effective service delivery, improve operational efficiencies, and address any duplication of work, using industry best practices where possible."
Deputy Police Chief Ryan Hughes told TBnewswatch the study will help the police service determine if it is staffed appropriately, which areas are strong, which areas are weak, and how it can best prepare itself for meeting future demands.
"Internally, we've done it. We've seen deficiencies, efficiencies. But everyone has their own eye. We need a consultant that has policing experience, who is not part of the Thunder Bay Police Service, to come in and take a full look."
TBPS serves an "official" population of 117,000 in the city and Oliver Paipoonge, over an area of 678 square kilometres.
It currently has 255 sworn officers and 128 civilian employees.
In a section providing background information, the RFP notes various experts and reports have suggested the true population of the city is closer to 150,000 people, one of the things it says contributes to the types and frequency of crime.
It also states that, given the history of trauma for many people in the city, Thunder Bay faces social issues of homelessness, mental health and substance use disorders, and that many of the issues that impact other police services in Canada are "amplified" here, with the following examples provided:
- Violent Crime Severity Index rising
- Crime Severity Index holding above Ontario and Canadian levels
- Rise in crimes comitted by people from outside the district. In 2022, 64 per cent of suspects arrested following Intelligence Unit investigations were from outside the district.
- Lack of coroner services, forcing TBPS to hold crime scenes and send officers to a forensic identification facility in Toronto
- Shortage of social services to address mental health and addiction calls
- Limited policing resources to draw on from outside the city
- A steady escalation in firearm seizures
- Growing volume of illicit narcotics
- High drug use. In 2022 TBPS alone responded to 210 overdoses, 75 of which were fatal
- Officers are twice as likely to suffer from PTSD due to the nature of their work
One of the study's aims is to identify immediate staffing requirements and projected staffing needs in five years and in 10 years.
It will also measure TBPS resources and services against other police services in Ontario, identify any service gaps and inefficiencies, and work with a review committee to develop solutions.
Hughes said if the study finds the police service is too small to meet current or projected demands, potentially it could be used to lobby senior governments for more funding.
But he added: "If there's efficiencies within the service . . . if we just restructure in a certain way, and we deploy our resources into certain areas, or there's software that can help us out, that could be the other avenue where we don't need additional bodies."
As part of the information-gathering exercise, the consultant is expected to meet with stakeholders inside and outside TBPS, including community representatives.
The successful bidder for the project will be chosen by the end of August, with work to begin the following month.
