Increasing Regina's police budget will not solve rising crime

I would forgive the average person for believing that more cops will mean lower crime due to the copious amounts of propaganda in our media that tells these lies. I expect government to know better, however. Soon, council will vote on a requested increase to the police service's overall budget. Time will tell if it gets approved, but if history is of any indication, the motion for the budget increase will pass, as it did last year when the police service requested both an increase much higher than inflation and population growth at the time. Included in that budget was funding for a police plane. For a city of 250,000 people.

Certain crimes are rising after a couple decades of decline, though these crimes are mostly property related. When one takes the time to understand the socioeconomic factors effecting our community, it becomes easy to understand why these kind of crimes are rising and it is not due to a lack of cops. A pandemic that shut down the economy has exacerbated already-increasing economic inequality, coupled with inflation due to fragile supply chains and corporate profiteering, is making life increasingly precarious for a growing segment of the population. It is clear that when economic opportunity declines, crime rises. And so here we are.

It should be easy for most to understand that more cops will not open up more economic opportunities for people (except for those new handsomely-paid cops, however). Many would suggest that we can both increase police budgets and increase funding to social programs, but the fact is, the latter is not happening. Saskatchewan has had a pro-austerity provincial government since 2007; a government who refuses to properly fund most programs that reduce or directly-address poverty including education, mental healthcare, and addictions treatment, yet they plan to create a new provincial police force. Even the "progressive" federal Liberal government is beating the drums of austerity and ignoring the true causes of inflation as I previously mentioned (despite what certain politicians and economists suggest, it is not from social spending or even direct payments to individuals).

I get it. The thought of being a victim of crime is terrifying. But the definition of insanity is doing some over and over again and expecting different results. Throwing money at more cops might provide a veneer of public safety but it is absolutely not going to solve rising crime. The only thing that will solve rising crime is creating a society that allows for individual flourishing in supportive communities. This is not going to be achieved by the free market or even by charity. It is not going to be achieved by governments that put business interests above all other interests. This can only be achieved by collective action from the working class, and democratic governments that truly represents the population as a whole and not just the few at the top. The poverty and hopelessness that leads to crime is a sign of rot in a cruel society which puts profits ahead of people. It's time we put the effort in to put people ahead of profits.