Hamilton councillor suggest colleagues ‘tune up’ new police chief over dip in tickets

A city councillor says he wasn't advising his colleagues to unduly influence police operations when he suggested they tune up" Hamilton's new chief over a dip in provincial offence tickets last year.

I just want them to be aware of the stats and what's happening. It's our job to watch trends and bring it to their attention," Coun. Lloyd Ferguson told The Spectator.

Ferguson made the remarks during an audit, finance and administration committee meeting Thursday morning.

The city staff report showed Hamilton police filed 44,946 provincial offence charges, which include traffic violations, last year compared to 53,316 in 2019.

Ferguson, who was police board chair from 2014 to 2018, said current board members should ask the chief about the radical reduction" in tickets, which are a revenue source for the city.

He suggested Coun. Chad Collins go and tune up his new chief" - Frank Bergen, a deputy who stepped into the top position earlier this month.

I used to find that very helpful because then it would go to the morning meetings with the officers and just point that out."

Collins couldn't be reached for comment Thursday.

Cameron Kroetsch, chair of the city's LGBTQ advisory committee, said Ferguson's remarks left him with a clear impression that board members have inappropriately delved into operational concerns.

It's such a cultural norm that the former chair of the police board is comfortable saying it in public."

In an interview, Ferguson said asking the chief about the report couldn't be seen as interfering with operations.

But if he told officers during a morning shift change, Hey, issue more tickets,' that would cross the line, the longtime Ancaster councillor said.

Ferguson said when he was chair, he'd raise trends privately with then-chiefs Eric Girt and Glenn De Caire. It gives them a source document to go talk to the troops with."

Mayor Fred Eisenberger said Ferguson's tune up" parlance was an unfortunate choice of words."

It's legitimate for a board member to ask about the chief about provincial offence trends, said Eisenberger, who's the current board chair.

But it's absolutely not" appropriate for a member to direct an increase or a decrease" in those tickets. And in my experience, that doesn't happen."

The concern is undue political pressure influencing whether someone is charged with an offence.

That has nothing to do with governance and should never ever be an area that any politician or any board member should ever pursue or ask about," Eisenberger said.

Board members don't have influence over operational decisions or day-to-day operations, police spokesperson Jackie Penman said via email. This is outlined in the Police Services Act."

Councillors and other board members are encouraged to work with" police crime managers to address any concerns in their wards," she added. Crime managers then bring those concerns forward for potential action."

Kroetsch, who had logged onto Thursday's virtual meeting to speak about the advisory committee's support for a flag-raising event to mark Pride month in June, said he was really surprised" by Ferguson's remarks.

Tune up" is real hostile language" that implies browbeating" police brass, he said. That's not a healthy work environment for anybody, including the chief of police."

Ferguson said he didn't mean tune up" to mean approaching the chief in an aggressive fashion over the decrease in tickets. No, just point it out to them."

Penman said the decrease in provincial offence notices last year was related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Less people on the road and within the community resulted in less tickets issued. To date, the number of tickets has increased compared to this time last year."

Teviah Moro is a Hamilton-based reporter at The Spectator. Reach him via email: tmoro@thespec.com