Police budgets, car theft and the spectre of 'public safety'
When Toronto's mayor presented her budget on Wednesday, the city's police services got everything they had asked for, with Olivia Chow retreating from her original plans to fund a smaller increase. Across Canada, police budgets continue to increase by millions of dollars per year, as the associations representing the police effectively lobby politicians and the public—often with vague warnings about rising crime and public safety.
So let's look at the numbers. What is the correlation between police spending and crime rates? Why do police say it's taking them longer to respond to calls? Will…
The skinny
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