October 8, 1999

TO: City of Toronto Policy & Finance Committee

FROM: Norman Gardner, Chairman

Toronto Police Services Board

SUBJECT: ESTABLISHMENT OF A PROTOCOL GOVERNING ISSUES RELATED TO FUTURE SPECIAL EVENTS IN THE CITY OF TORONTO THAT REQUIRE EXTENSIVE POLICING BY THE TORONTO POLICE SERVICE

Recommendations:

It is recommended that:

1. the City of Toronto Policy & Finance Committee establish a protocol between the City of Toronto and both the federal and provincial governments regarding future situations that require the Toronto Police Service to provide extensive policing services for foreign governments and, particularly, the financial impact to the Toronto Police Service; and

2. the protocol noted in Recommendation No. 1 be established prior to completing the Service=s Year 2000 operating budget.

Council Reference/Background History:

At its meeting on September 23, 1999, the Toronto Police Services Board was in receipt of the following report AUGUST 18, 1999 from David J. Boothby, Chief of Police:

>SUBJECT: COST OF SERBIAN DEMONSTRATIONS

RECOMMENDATION: 1)THAT the Board receive this report for information; and

2)THAT the Board forward a copy of this report to the City of Toronto=s Policy and Finance Committee.

BACKGROUND:

At the Toronto Police Service Board=s Audit Committee meeting held on April 7, 1999, it was requested that the Chief of Police provide a report to the Board on the cost of police resources expended to address the on-going Serbian Demonstrations in Toronto. This report was received by the Board at its meeting of April 22, 1999 (Board Minute #199 refers). The report received at the April meeting reported costs incurred from March 24, 1999 up to and including April 6, 1999. Since that report, demonstrations continued until June 17, 1999. This report addresses the final costs incurred by the Toronto Police Service related to the demonstrations.

The Demonstrations and Police Resources

As a result of NATO=s actions surrounding events in Kosovo, organized demonstrations took place at several locations within the City of Toronto. These demonstrations required the redirection of police resources from normal operating activities to address public safety and order-maintenance related to the demonstrations.

The first demonstration took place on the evening of March 24, 1999 and continued on a daily basis until the final demonstration, June 17, 1999. The demonstrations took place at the U.S. Consulate as well as several other locations including the British and German Consulates, Nathan Phillips Square, Queen=s Park, and various media sites. Demonstrations took place at the U.S. Consulate twice a day and ranged in size from 100 to 8,000 people. Police presence was required at these and other demonstration locations in the interest of public safety and to maintain order.

To meet the staffing requirements at the demonstration locations, uniform staff were redirected from regular policing duties. Staff from the divisions as well as several support units, including the Public Safety Unit, Mounted Unit, Court Services (for the transportation of prisoners) and Traffic Enforcement, were utilized to meet the policing demands at the demonstrations. Some assistance was also provided from other police services including Durham Regional Police, Peel Regional Police and the RCMP.

As the demonstrations continued and the drain on police resources continued to be felt, the Service explored ways to mitigate the financial and operational costs. On April 19, 1999, an operational plan was implemented to address the staffing requirements with on-duty personnel. 69 staff were re-deployed to the Public Safety Unit to form teams to provide public safety and order maintenance at the demonstrations. This plan reduced the number of off-duty hours to provide policing services for the demonstrations; however, the redirection of staff from normal policing duties to the demonstrations continued to cause a shortfall of staff to other units.

Financial Cost

Due to the size and the on-going nature of the demonstrations, the demonstrations had a significant impact on the Service=s premium pay budget, as well as on the availability of police officers to the community.

The cost to the Service for policing the demonstrations was primarily for human resources. For the period of March 24, 1999 (first protest date) to June 17, 1999 (last protest date), a total of 24,000 hours of regular (on-duty) time at a cost of $0.9M and 28,000 hours of overtime and callback at a cost of $1.2M, was attributed to the Serbian demonstrations, for a total cost of $2.1M. Since hours incurred while on-duty represent soft costs to the Service, the total direct cost of premium pay to the Service is $1.2M. In addition to human resources, other miscellaneous direct costs were incurred amounting to $0.1M. The total direct costs of the demonstrations is $1.3M.

Funding

The financial cost of the demonstrations cannot be accommodated within the Service=s 1999 operating budget. The prolonged Serbian protests could not have been anticipated and therefore are considered extraordinary costs that are too significant to absorb. For this reason, it was recommended in the previous report to the Board that the Board pursue funding from the Federal Government. The Board approved the report received at the April Board meeting and reworded this recommendation to read >THAT, since the consulates and embassies are federal jurisdiction, the Board send correspondence to appropriate federal departments along with copies to Toronto-area members of Parliament, requesting federal monies to re-imburse the Toronto Police Service for providing these services.=

At this time, the Service has not been given any indication that funding will be available from the Federal Government to offset these costs.

SUMMARY

Serbian demonstrations at the U.S. Consulate and at several other locations have had a significant financial and operational impact on the Service. The total financial cost to the Police Service for the demonstrations occurring from March 24, 1999 to June 17, 1999 is $1.3M. Given that the costs of these demonstrations were not included in the Service=s operating budget, these costs represent an overexpenditure to the Service. While the Board has made efforts to secure funding to offset these expenditures, there has been no indication of success in doing so; therefore, the $1.3M cost is reflected in the Service=s July variance report as part of a $9.2M projected shortfall. It is recommended that the Board receive this report for information and that the Board also forward a copy of this report to the City of Toronto=s Policy and Finance Committee.

Frank Chen, Acting Chief Administrative OfficerBPolicing (8-8005), and Staff Sergeant Fred Ellarby (8-4921) will be present at the Board meeting to respond to any questions.=

The Board was also in receipt of the following report AUGUST 4, 1999 from The Honourable Arthur C. Eggleton, Minister of National Defence:

>Thank you for your letter of May 10, 1999, concerning the cost of policing Serbian demonstrations in the City of Toronto. I apologize for the delay in responding.

Although I sympathize with your concerns regarding these costs, please note that the Department of National Defence is not responsible for the security of foreign consulates and embassies in Canada. In fact, only in emergency situations is the Canadian Forces called out in support of the civil authorities. In these circumstances, the province requesting such help is responsible for all related expenses incurred by the Department.

I would note that, under certain circumstances, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police may become involved with the security of foreign consulates and embassies in Canada. In this regard, I noted that you have contacted the Solicitor General of Canada, the Honourable Lawrence MacAulay.

Once again, thank you for your letter. I hope the foregoing will be of assistance.=

The Board was also in receipt of the following report JULY 6, 1999 from Alain Dudoit, Chief of Protocol, Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade:

>I am writing in reply to your letter of May 10, 1999, regarding overtime costs for the protection of the Consulate in Toronto during the Serbian demonstrations.

The protection and resultant costs of protecting foreign representatives are the responsibility of the Solicitor General of Canada of whom we are forwarding your letter.=

Conclusions:

The Board received the foregoing reports and approved the following Motions:

1. THAT the Chief of Police provide the Board with a report identifying any previous requests that may have been sent to the federal government for reimbursement of costs incurred by the Service as a result of policing special events in Toronto;

2. THAT, in view of the additional $1.3M costs related to the Serbian demonstrations in Toronto, the Board request the City of Toronto Policy & Finance Committee to establish a protocol between the City of Toronto and both the provincial and federal governments regarding future situations that require the Toronto Police Service to provide extensive policing services for foreign governments and, particularly, the financial impact to the Toronto Police Service;

3. THAT the Board request that the protocol noted in Motion No. 2 be established prior to completing the Service=s Year 2000 operating budget; and

4. THAT the Board send copies of the foregoing report to the provincial Solicitor General and federal Solicitor General.

Contact Name and Telephone Number:

Angelo Cristofaro, Acting Director, Finance & Administration, telephone no. 808-7877.

Respectfully submitted,

Norman Gardner

Chairman

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