Writing in the London Free Press, reporter Jennifer O’Brien has profiled a recent MLI paper by Prof. Christian Leuprecht. In the article, titled “Holding the line”, O’Brien writes that “As soaring police budgets strain city coffers across Canada, including in London, a study by an Ottawa-based think-tank says Canadians aren’t getting all the policing they pay for. In the study: The Blue Line or the Bottom Line of Police Services in Canada? Arresting Runaway Costs, Christian Leuprecht of the Macdonald-Laurier Institute offers suggestions on how to cut costs and make better use of highly paid police officers”.
O’Brien summarizes Leuprecht’s findings on the drivers of swelling police budgets and his recommendations regarding tasks that can be outsourced or “civilianized” rather than performed by highly trained, well-paid officers. She also includes responses from police critics and police associations.
