A South Kent Councillor is looking for the Chatham-Kent Police Chief to provide an update the Council in the near future.
Concillor Anthony Ceccacci entered a notice of motion at the June 23, 2025 Council meeting requesting the Chief of Police attend at a future Council meeting and present a report updating Council and the public about the implementation of the hiring process and revised processes to assist in dealing with identified issues.
Ceccacci added “as the Municipality of Chatham-Kent is still seeing an increase in police related needs” he’s requesting the Chief to also highlight any future initiatives for all communities of Chatham-Kent.
“An independent audit by Deloitte, conducted for the Chatham-Kent Police Service (CKPS), did highlight a staffing shortage and recommended increased staffing to meet service demands,” Ceccacci said in his motion.
“That Deloitte audit found that the total calls for service have increased, which in turn has increased the total number of calls police are attending. That Deloitte audit found that the police budget for police officer strength had remained the same from 2018-2021 (and) found that the CKPS has a low policing ratio, compared to provincial and Canadian averages.”
Ceccacci said the audit also found that the proactive work had decreased, requiring officers to attend more calls, leaving less time for proactive/preventative work and employee’s wellbeing had been compromised, with an increase to the use of sick time and long term illness.
“Deloitte also noted that officers were wearing too many hats and suggested streamlining responsibilities for greater efficiency,” Ceccacci said.
“CKPS is nearing the completion of the hiring process and there has been significantly positive feedback in the Chatham area.”
Ceccacci’s motion is on the agenda for the Monday, July 14, 2025 Council meeting.
The meeting begins at 6 p.m. at the Civic Centre in Chatham.
