Police budget squeezed
Posted Jun 1, 2010 7:23 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The police budget is getting squeezed from both sides.
Last year, revenue from fines like traffic tickets dropped by $1.4-million while overtime costs rose.
The Sun reported on the weekend that lengthy homicide and gang investigations were responsible for nearly $3-million worth of overtime.
Deputy Chief Jim Hornby tells the Calgary Herald revenue from tickets may be dropping because more wet weather than usual is affecting red light cameras.
Alderman Gord Lowe muses that Calgarians may just be paying more attention to their speed.
Criminals armed with the latest technological advances are also being blamed for rising police overtime costs.
Calls to the police tech crime unit for things like credit card fraud and Internet luring doubled last year.
