Today@Dal

From Wednesday's Globe and Mail:

Police chiefs, academics and government officials from across the country are gathering in Ottawa this week for a landmark summit on the cost of policing, at a time when many municipalities are struggling to contain soaring public safety budgets.

The two-day event will focus on what police can do differently to deliver the kind of services the public has come to expect, but at a lower cost. It is expected to look at new community safety models as well as ideas for working more efficiently within police services and in the broader justice system.

“It’s a major, watershed event,” said Paul McKenna, who teaches public administration at Dalhousie University and is in Ottawa to attend the summit. He said the meeting is evidence of a growing recognition that Canadian policing is due for some fundamental change. “A lot of police services are looking to retool themselves in fairly substantial ways.”

The number of crimes reported to police is declining while the cost of policing and the number of officers continues to increase, McKenna said.

To read the rest of this article, visit the Globe and Mail's website.