PTSD among OPP officers contributing to staffing shortages: auditor general
Medical leave taken by Ontario Provincial Police officers with post-traumatic stress disorder is contributing significantly to understaffing at detachments across the province and affecting service levels, the auditor general has found.
In her annual report released Wednesday, Bonnie Lysyk said that in 2020 more than 1,000 front-line constable positions were vacant - about a quarter of all such positions in the OPP.
There are several types of leave, Lysyk noted, including parental leave, but the increase is driven by employees off due to Workplace Safety and Insurance Board claims - that number increased 364 per cent between 2015 and 2020.
"The increasing number of OPP officers filing WSIB claims for PTSD and other mental health injuries is symptomatic of an ongoing issue related to officer mental health and stress," Lysyk wrote in the report.
Those claims led to $42.7 million in costs and 11,037 days of leave in 2020, the report said.
The understaffing has also led to higher overtime costs, increasing from $32 million in 2015-16 to $36 million in 2019-20, the report found.
"We question the sustainability of the rapidly rising financial costs, declining front-line officers in local communities, and effects on employee well-being caused by traumatic stress at the OPP," the report said.
"We noted the OPP had not performed any analysis to project how much the financial cost and vacancies associated with traumatic stress would continue to rise over the coming years, or whether these effects could be mitigated."
The staffing shortages led to 28 per cent fewer hours of patrols, and 26 municipalities received less than half of the hours of policing services they needed, the report found.
The audit also found that regions with higher front-line officer vacancies resolve fewer crimes.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 1, 2021.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
World seeing near breakdown of international law amid wars in Gaza and Ukraine, Amnesty says
The world is seeing a near breakdown of international law amid flagrant rule-breaking in Gaza and Ukraine, multiplying armed conflicts, the rise of authoritarianism and huge rights violations in Sudan, Ethiopia and Myanmar, Amnesty International warned Wednesday as it published its annual report.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
U.S. Senate passes bill forcing TikTok's parent company to sell or face ban, sends to Biden for signature
The Senate passed legislation Tuesday that would force TikTok's China-based parent company to sell the social media platform under the threat of a ban, a contentious move by U.S. lawmakers that's expected to face legal challenges.
Wildfire southwest of Peace River spurs evacuation order
People living near a wildfire burning about 15 kilometres southwest of Peace River are being told to evacuate their homes.
U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passes aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan with big bipartisan vote
The U.S. Senate has passed US$95 billion in war aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden after months of delays and contentious debate over how involved the United States should be in foreign wars.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.