Community safety and crime prevention are among the top priorities of Manitoba communities. The challenge is that the costs of fighting crime are rising and quickly becoming increasingly unsustainable. FCM has studied this issue in depth, and found the costs for police services in Canada rose from $6.4 billion in 1999 to $12.3 billion in 2009, with municipalities paying for 60 per cent of this increase.
Some of the AMM’s recent initiatives include the establishment of the Manitoba Contract Advisory Committee to provide input on the multi-year RCMP policing contract with municipalities, with support provided by Manitoba Justice and the AMM. The AMM Cities Caucus meetings also include regular discussions of policing issues such as costs.
Winter 2014 Municipal Leader – Special Report on Public Safety