Transportation Committee
	TO:	Mayor and Members of Council
	FROM:	Andy Taylor, Commissioner of Corporate Services Catherine Conrad, Town Solicitor
	PREPARED BY:	same as above
	DATE OF MEETING:	May 17, 2004
	SUBJECT:	MUNICIPAL SPECIAL CONSTABLES

RECOMMENDATION:

That the report entitled Municipal Special Constables be received;

And that the Mayor, Chief Administrative Officer and the Commissioner of Corporate Services be authorized to negotiate with the York Police Services Board and the Provincial Government, if necessary, for the appointment of Special Constables (SC) in Markham.

PURPOSE:

To provide information to Council on the process for appointing Special Constables in Markham and on the duties which may be performed by Special Constables with respect to local enforcement for speeding and stop sign violations, to increase driver and pedestrian safety, and to restore safe streets.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

Police forces often assign a lower priority to speeding and stop sign violations on local streets than other offences. Markham has attempted to slow the worst traffic offenders with a variety of traffic calming devices. Experience has demonstrated that use and maintenance of such devices has become expensive and adversely affects winter road operations, fire and EMS response times and public transit.

Special Constables appointed by the York Region Police Services Board may be another option to increase enforcement of local traffic regulations and increase safety on our streets.

BACKGROUND:

In the past several decades, enforcement of speeding and stop signs has declined in priority due, no doubt, to competing demands for police budget allocations. Police forces assign higher priority to criminal activities and less to traffic duty.

Responsibility and authority for traffic safety are divided in the eyes of the public. Their expectation is that the local municipality will address the problem, but in fact, the local municipality does not have the authority to regulate or enforce traffic safety. Notwithstanding that municipalities have no authority to regulate traffic, and driven by resident demands for action, municipalities have introduced a variety of traffic calming measures to slow the worst offenders. The most popular and effective of these is the speed hump.

In the first data gathering conference conducted by the Markham Safe Streets Task Force, the Task Force learned that traffic calming measures, including the speed hump, are very expensive. Equipment repair, hump repair, slower fire and EMS response, initial capital expenditure, staff costs for approvals, design and installation all contribute to a much larger cost – in dollars and in service levels.

The St. Albert, Alberta Experience

The City of St. Albert, Alberta, implemented the Special Constable program ten years ago. St. Albert has a population of 55,000 and employs six By-law/Special Constables providing enforcement seven days a week. The Special Constables work 10-hour shifts. The Special Constables in St. Albert enforce speeding, stop sign and seat belt violations in addition to regular municipal bylaw duties including animal control and property standards offences.

The salary of a SC in St. Albert is $53,000/annum (plus benefits), which is 79% of that of an RCMP officer, paid at $67,000 (plus benefits). The SC is seen as an attractive career choice and not necessarily a step on the way to becoming a police officer. Each SC has a standard marked vehicle, fully configured for less than $30,000.

SC’s are unarmed but carry a small baton and pepper-spray and wear protective vests to guard against injury. Their uniform is similar to the local RCMP police officer’s uniform but with enough differences to distinguish between the two. Training for a new SC who has no police experience or the two-year By-law Enforcement Diploma through a college is four weeks – two for legal issues, one for safety and one for human relations. Training is provided by the Alberta Ministry of Justice and Attorney General.

Local enforcement is funded from ticket revenue including revenue from photo-radar and red-light cameras, whose operation is subcontracted to ACS. An $89 fine for 15km over the speed limit is distributed as follows:

Amount	Disbursements
$69.00	Paid to Municipality
8.00	Paid to Province for Court & Administrative Costs
12.00	Surcharge for Victim’s Fund
$89.00	Total

Demerit points are also awarded from tickets issued by SC.

In St. Albert, 500 to 600 tickets are issued monthly for speeding, stopping, seat belts and other moving violations. St. Albert has no speed humps or other traffic calming devices.

St. Albert receives regular policing services from a detachment of 44 RCMP officers under contract with the City, including a five-member traffic unit; they issue about 2,000 tickets/month for moving violations. One RCMP officer costs $102,000 (plus benefits) annually, including vehicle; the City is charged a reduced cost of $92,000. There has been no increase in RCMP staffing level since introduction of the SC in 1980. The St. Albert SC’s and the RCMP often cooperate on blitzes for seat belt and other violations. One very successful program is bike patrol in parks and pathways, with one SC and one police officer. Residents like it as it has been demonstrated to curtail vandalism, alcohol, drugs, weapons, and off-leash violations.

St. Albert also has a COP (Citizens on Patrol) program, in which volunteers patrol the streets and report suspicious behaviour, vandalism, etc. The RCMP has a community-policing unit which meets monthly with a Community Advisory Committee (CAC), open to the public, to discuss enforcement concerns with the City and RCMP. Many groups are represented on this Committee.

Some communities look at SC as a source of revenue. The Province of Alberta is attempting to balance revenue generation from fines with community traffic safety needs. To ensure this, the Province of Alberta requires each community to file a Traffic Safety Plan and provide reasonable training and supervision to its enforcement personnel. The Province of Alberta indicates the SC provides an important service to its local communities through both enforcement and public education. Statistics indicate the SC issues one of every three tickets issued because they are also educating the public.

SPECIAL CONSTABLES IN ONTARIO

The Police Services Act of Ontario authorizes police services boards (and the Ontario Provincial Police) to appoint SC to act “for the period, area and purpose that the board considers expedient”. The Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services oversees the appointment of SC. The Ministry is obliged by the Police Services Act to consult with and advise employers of SC on matters relating to police and police services. The Ministry is not likely to approve the appointment of SC unless there is a demonstrated need for peace officer and/or police powers in order to perform the position identified for appointment.

The Act forbids SC from performing the usual duties of a police officer. They can be used to support existing police services but cannot be used as substitutes for police officers. Typically, SC fall into two categories:

1. those that require limited powers for defined purposes, such as court security officers; and
2. those that need broader powers but within a limited geographic area, such as TTC Security.

Application for appointment must be made to the Police Services Board. While the employer is responsible for the supervision of its employees who are appointed to act as SC, the Police Services Board has an ongoing responsibility to ensure that the use of SC by the employer is effective and appropriate. SC are exempt from Part V of the Police Services Act (the “Complaints” section) and from the jurisdiction of the SIU. The application for appointment would have to consider both the legislation sought to be enforced and the nature and scope of the duties of the SC.

FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS:

None.

ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS:

None.

BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:

Corporate Services Commission (Enforcement)

ATTACHMENTS:

None.

Andy Taylor Commissioner of Corporate Services

Catherine M. Conrad Town Solicitor

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