Sudbury police efficient, but can still improve: report

A third-party review of the Greater Sudbury Police Service shows a number of areas where the force is both efficient and effective, but theconsultant says there are still areas for improvement.

KPMG was hired in 2015 to conduct a review of the police service and provide recommendations one of which takes aim at the building in whichofficers work.

"In an organization where the majority of your cost is people, how you move people, how you group people, how you assign people is a big issue," saidOscar Poloni, a spokesperson for for the consulting firm.

"Let's not forget this used to be the library, this wasn't purpose-built for police servicing."

Poloni added that the building's age is also a problem.

"This building was built in the early-70s. Policing has changed significantly," he said.

KPMG's final report was presented Wednesday at a meeting of the the police services board.

Police can make better use of analytic data: report

The police service commissioned the seven month-long review which highlighted a number of areas in which city police are doing well, including how they respond to mental health-related calls.

One suggestionin the report was to make better use of crime statistics to better lay out where officers should be in the city.

You can say, 'When do I need more officers versus less officers and where doI need them?'- OscarPoloni,KPMGspokesperson

"If you try to blanket the city and you have somebody in Onaping [Falls] and you get a call in Chelmsford, it's not a two minute drive,"Poloni said.

"So, from a predictive basis, if you could look at the distribution and both the prevalence and the instances, you can say, 'When do I need more officers versus less officers and where do I need them?'"

Police Chief Paul Pederson said he welcomes the recommendations in the review.

"Anything we can do to contain costs,"he said.

"A report like this allows us to go forward despite the increasing demands and increasing complexity of our business and go forward and not ask for more officers."

The review cost Sudbury police $125,000.