Halifax approves 911 dispatchers, intimate partner violence officers in police budgets

Halifax councillors have approved budgets for both the municipal police and RCMP, which include new positions for 911 call takers and intimate partner violence response.

On Friday, the city’s budget committee passed the 2026-27 budgets for both Halifax Regional Police (HRP) and Halifax RCMP.

The HRP’s $103 million budget is up about $2 million from last year, with most of the increase coming from collective agreement changes and wage increases.

It also included eight new positions for civilian 911 calltakers, who handle calls from the public and dispatch them to HRP, RCMP, and Halifax Fire.

HRP Chief Don MacLean said the emergency communication team is understaffed and burned out, and relies on mandatory overtime.

“The additions of these bodies will help alleviate that concern. Won't eliminate it, but it will help alleviate it,” MacLean said.

Multiple councilors asked how HRP is tackling impaired and aggressive driving, as road safety is one of the issues they get the most calls and concerns about from residents.

“There just seems to be a bit of lawlessness occurring on our streets these days,” said Deputy Mayor Patty Cuttell.

There has been a drop in tickets issued for traffic violations over the past decade, but MacLean said he hopes to see that trend reversing as enforcement improves.

To carry that out, MacLean said the force is seeing progress in filling vacant positions, and the 38-person cadet class graduating this summer will make a real difference.

Supt. Greg Robertson of the Halifax Regional Police said during the meeting that the 10-person traffic unit is now fully staffed. He said officers focus on problem spots where there have been multiple public complaints or collisions, and he has seen the numbers of tickets trending upwards.

“They’re just not getting into police cars and driving around the city, it’s targeted enforcement,” Robertson said.

Robertson said they are also working to bring the force’s entire 15-person motorcycle unit back on the road to enforce traffic violations.

The Halifax RCMP’s $44.9 million budget is up about $4.8 million over last year.