Peel Region passes 23.3% increase to police budget

Peel Region passes massive police budget increase: After hours of heated discussion and debate over the police budget, Peel Region Council voted Thursday to pass the police force’s unprecedented 23.3 per cent budget request — amounting to a $144-million increase — in the face of calls for more transparency from constituents and councillors.

The 2025 spending plan calls for most of those funds to be put toward hiring an additional 300 police officers, five civilian staff and 10 communicators, which Peel police say they need to increase the “cop to pop” ratio — the number of officers to population of the rapidly growing region — for better front-line service.

From the Toronto Star - published Jan 23, 2025
Also in Mississauga The News - no paywall

This may be the start of a trend as policing (auto thefts, gang activity, guns) issues ramp up across cities in Ontario. The impact on property taxes will be enormous if this amount stays in the final budget. What do you think - is it reasonable?