London City Hall (credit: XFM News)
A last-ditch effort to reduce the police budget has been shot down by a city council vote.
The motion, introduced in Thursday’s meeting by Ward 9 councillor Anna Hopkins, would have required a majority vote to be considered for inclusion in the budget. 6 councillors, including Hopkins, were in favour of the motion, while 9 were against it.
The increase to the police budget has received a significant amount of criticism, with many against it saying that the funds could instead be allocated to other areas, such as housing. Councillor Hopkins herself said during Thursday’s meeting that “housing and homelessness continue to be a concern” and not safety.
Opposition to the police budget increase even resulted in a protest, which took place outside city hall during Tuesday’s public participation meeting.
Deputy Mayor Shawn Lewis defended the increase during Thursday’s meeting, saying “[London Police] are still going to be below the provincial average in their ‘Cop-to-Pop.’ (officer-to-population) ratio”.
He also highlighted some of the consequences he says a reduction in the police’s budget could have, “It could have a significant impact on one less cruiser on the road, them getting into the electric vehicle market, or it could mean that an officer isn’t wearing a bodycamera when they are accused of misconduct”.
The motion proposed reducing the police’s budget by 5%.
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