The Edmonton Police Commission has increased transparency for police funding as part of the City of Edmonton’s Fall 2023 Supplemental Capital Budget Adjustments (SCBA).
The Commission assessed capital funding requests from the Edmonton Police Service (EPS) for 2024 using the City’s risk matrix to determine which projects are most needed for community safety.
“The Commission identified several unfunded EPS capital requests from Budget 2023 as critical items for public and officer safety. We provided these necessary funding requests to City Council, with our top priorities being the replacement of body armour and radios for officers, along with vital information technology hardware and applications. We look forward to hearing Council’s decision in the near future.”
Erick Ambtman, Chair of the Edmonton Police Commission
None of the EPS capital funding requests are new asks to Council, and were included in the 2023 Capital Budget request made by the Commission. Some of the proposed funding profiles published in the City’s SCBA process did not include project details. However, the Commission provided detailed information to the City for each request.
Additional information about these projects is listed below to demonstrate our commitment to transparency and accountability for police funding:
CM-60-1425 – Radio Life Cycle ($4.5 million)
Portable Radios with required accessories.
CM-60-1771 – Police Equipment ($1.3 million)
Personal protective equipment used by all sworn members in day-to-day operations (1,894 sworn Full-time Equivalents as of June 30, 2023). Funds allocated would be used to purchase body armour.
CM-60-1433 – Police IT – Infrastructure Sustainment ($3.3 million)
Telecom Hardware: Landline telephone switching equipment is important to all front-line operational, support and administrative, as well as management employees. Included: end point phones; Voice over Internet Protocol landline telephone systems and voicemail; 911 public safety answering point telephone systems and recordings; video conferencing cameras and microphones; and audio/video bridging.
Security Hardware: Security-related technologies used to provide safety and protection to officers, staff, and citizens. The equipment is used to manage the risk inherent for personnel within police facilities and manage public access within. Included: closed circuit television infrastructure (cameras, encoders, server and storage); card access controls (readers, control panels, card keys); Intrusion and panic alarms; and interview recordings.
CM-60-1460 – Police IT – Applications Sustainment ($1.5 million)
Infrastructure Software: To enhance the stability, security, and performance of critical software components, ensuring a resilient and efficient information and technology environment. Included: multi-factor authentication software; system management software; cyber security software; and monitoring and alerting software.
Dispatch Systems: Police response for citizens within Edmonton and surrounding areas. Included: Computer Aided Dispatch (integrated with operational records, 911 telephony and Canadian Police Information Centre [CPIC]); virtual response for systems for non-emergency calls; and call evaluation.
Operational Records Systems Lifecycle: These systems are the backbone to criminal investigations and court disclosure processes. Included: Core police records management system; detainee management; eTicketing; property/exhibit system; and Integration with Alberta Courts, Alberta Transportation, Alberta Health Services, Statistics Canada and CPIC systems.
Intelligence Systems Lifecycle: These systems support the focus of the EPS being an intelligence driven organization. Included: Geospatial systems; search and rescue management system; data integration internally and with external partners; data warehouse; criminal dashboarding; reporting systems; and crime analysis systems.
Additional Information:
City of Edmonton Attachment 3 – Summary of SCBA Recommendations