Thank you, Mr. Norlock.
I would echo what Mr. McFee has said about the cost of policing, because in my opinion it's really reduced to what level of service the community is prepared to accept, because these are the cost drivers. At the same time, our institutions have to be mindful that there are some economies that can be achieved through the use of alternative methods of delivering policing. For example, I mentioned that technology may in some small way relieve the burden on the number of police officers needed to carry out a particular task. There's some conventional thinking, of course, that perhaps we can acquire some lower-cost employees to carry out the functions.
But as Mr. McFee mentioned—and I support this—a thorough program evaluation of the nature of the work that gets done in our community will help reduce the demands on the services. For example, in the area of mental health and challenges for social services, supportive housing is often cited as one of the foundations upon which we can grow a healthier community.
I would encourage our community to look at policing as an investment. Where we have demonstrated a closer collaboration with community agencies, we are in fact building an investment in that community through social development. I like to use the phrase “crime prevention through social development”. The police services in every community have a strong role to play in providing a greater capacity in the community to resist the harms they face, including reduction in crime.