Oct 28, 2008 - 12:39 PM

By Kristen Calis

PICKERING -- There are not enough police officers patrolling Ajax and Pickering streets, said off-duty Durham Regional Police officers as they relayed their message in Pickering on Monday night.

"Mayor (Dave) Ryan why are there only 12 police working tonight?" read a blinking red sign on the corner of Glenanna Road and The Esplanade in reference to 19 Division, which is Ajax and Pickering combined.

"It seems on a daily basis that's what we're operating on (in 19 Division)," Durham Regional Police Association (DRPA) president Doug Cavanaugh told reporters before the Mayor's Town Hall Meeting.

DRPA has been taking job action for more than three weeks due to what it sees as a policing crisis. DRPA represents 1,100 uniform officers and civilian staff and has been working without a contract since the beginning of the year. Job action currently entails donning baseball caps that read '10-33' (the radio signal for officer in distress) and cutting back on traffic tickets.

"Presently from what I've been told there's been a 70- to 75-per cent drop in provincial traffic tickets," Mr. Cavanaugh said.

Durham police write between $400,000 and $500,000 in provincial offences tickets each month, according to the association, with revenue from fines going to the Region.

After handing out information pamphlets to Ward 3 residents attending the meeting, about 30 officers went inside City Hall to ask Mayor Ryan, who sits on the Police Services Board, if he'd support the request for more officers. DRPA is asking for 20 additional front-line officers, while Chief Mike Ewles has requested 19 in the budget, eight of which would go to 19 Division.

"Eight sounds like a lot but in reality that's one-and-two-thirds cops on a 24/7 basis," Chief Ewles said in an interview after the meeting. He added "shift relief factors" such as days off and court appearances also take officers off the streets at times.

Mr. Cavanaugh asked the mayor if he supports hiring more officers.

"The simple answer is yes...I support the Chief's proposal," Mayor Ryan said. He added like any Regional department, it's expected the police department take financial responsibility into consideration as the chief is expected to cut his budget by $300,000.

"I hope I can figure out the budget without having to cut staff," Chief Ewles said, adding paying staff ties up more than 83 per cent of the budget.

Mr. Cavanaugh said while he felt the mayor's answers were "non-answers" he was pleased to hear he supports additional officers.

"So, I hope he takes that to the (police) services board and Regional Council," he said.

Ward 1 City Councillor Jennifer O'Connell, also wearing the '10-33' ball cap, asked Mayor Ryan how Durham Region can improve its officer-to-resident ratio of one officer for every 750 residents to a more reasonable number like the Toronto Police Service with a 450:1 ratio.

Mayor Ryan said 750 was actually the target, which has been exceeded to one officer for every 741 in Durham. While he doesn't think everything is "how we want it to be" the board is working to adjust that number over time.

"So we are making progress," he said.

In an interview after the meeting in regards to the officers' complaints of lack of policing on Pickering streets, Mayor Ryan said when residents return community surveys, there are always valid safety concerns, but the vast majority return them having checked off 'satisfied' or 'very satisfied.'

"Generally speaking there is a high satisfaction level within the community," he said.

- With files from Jeff Mitchell.