Vaccination site shifts boost police revenue

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This article was published 12/06/2021 (1931 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Special duty police shifts at COVID-19 vaccination sites are bringing in extra pandemic revenue for the Winnipeg Police Service.

Police officers completed 5,656 special duty shifts from March 1, 2020, to March 31, 2021, including 1,360 at vaccination sites, results of a freedom of information request show.

That translated to revenue of $4.3 million overall, including slightly more than $1 million earned at the vaccination sites.

The special duty policing program contracts out officers to provide security at special events and stores, as well as some traffic escorts. Officers can complete special duty shifts during their time off, with the City of Winnipeg charging about $119/hour per constable.

While earnings must cover the cost of supplying the officers, they are also being credited with offsetting some of the pandemic hit to the police service’s bottom line. A police budget update for the first quarter of 2021 predicts “police services” earnings will end the year nearly $2 million higher than the budget forecast (to reach at total of $6.3 million). The report notes that should occur “primarily due to special duty volume at vaccination sites.”

After a Winnipeg Police Board meeting last week, police Chief Danny Smyth said the numbers reflect consistent requests to staff vaccination sites.

“We’ve been asked to be present at the super-sites here in the city, so we have a presence there and we have a presence there around the clock,” said Smyth.

Police were not available for further comment Friday.

Coun. Markus Chambers, chairman of the Winnipeg Police Board, said the officers work to ensure people wear masks and social distance at super-sites.

“It’s just another measure of security,” said Chambers.

He cautioned the program must be carefully monitored, however, to ensure officers don’t become exhausted by working too many special duty shifts in addition to their standard work schedule.

Police must carefully watch “how (the program) affects the health and welfare of the organization for those who are routinely taking overtime shifts in addition to their regular duties,” said Chambers.

Coun. Scott Gillingham, a former Winnipeg Police Board chairman, echoed those concerns, noting he’s been assured the service does have guidelines that prevent individual officers from working too much.

“That’s always a concern that I would have is just to ensure that officers are not doing too much special duty (to the extent of) emotional, physical and/or mental detriment,” said Gillingham.

The revenue boost comes in spite of the fact police stopped accepting new bookings for about two months last year, said Chambers. That pandemic pause began sometime in April, though some long-term contracts were not interrupted.

A city finance report notes the overall police budget is expected to incur a deficit of $8.5 million by the end of 2021, in part due to decreased traffic enforcement revenue.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga