Hamilton's police chief says the service needs a new investigative services building to guarantee that evidence doesn't get contaminated, among other factors.
Chief Glenn De Caire told councillors on Wednesday that there have been no court cases lost over Hamilton Police Service not having enough forensics space. He also doesn't know of any cases where forensic evidence has been contaminated.
But in a presentation asking city council for a $5-million contribution to the new building, police service staff called it a risk.
'These are all very live issues that need to be addressed, and need to be addressed now.'- Chief Glenn De Caire
"There is a separation of drying areas so evidence is not contaminated," De Caire said during a city hall budget session. "There is a risk that presents itself if our forensics people do not handle these items in a particular way to protect against accusations of contamination."
The matter, he said, "could easily be raised in court."
Police say they need 53,500 square feet of new space, and hope to get it in a new $15-million investigative services building downtown. The building will include three forensics labs – one for evidence from victims, one for the accused and one for the crime scene.
They hope to fund it, in part, with a federal-provincial infrastructure grant, with a third of the money coming from the city and two-thirds from upper levels of government.
But the other grants hinge on the city contributing.
The building is part of $43,259,000 in new capital projects the service says it needs over the next decade, including a $4-million expansion to their marine facility, $19,674,000 for a new division four station and $1 million for new horse stables.
Coun. Jason Farr of Ward 2 singled out the mention of contaminated evidence.
"Can you expand on what 'risk to prosecutions' and 'risk of contamination' means?" he asked.
De Caire said forensics staff are skilled, and work diligently in the cramped space they have.
But "these are all very live issues that need to be addressed, and need to be addressed now."
The capital contribution will be included in the city's overall budget, which council approves in April.
Councillors had little argument over the operating budget on Wednesday.
Police presented a budget that was a 2.95-per cent increase over 2014, the lowest increase in 16 years. The budget increased $4.3 million to $158.5 million.
The budget included adding five constables to the Mobile Crisis Rapid Response Team, which specializes in mental health calls. The team expected to see 250 calls in 2014, and ended up taking 624 calls in 11 months.
The budget also asked for two trainers for Conductive Energy Weapons (CEWs), better known by the brand name Taser.
But the biggest increase was salaries and benefits, which accounted for nearly 90 per cent of the budget. Employee-related costs accounted for $4,85 million, or a 3.35-per cent increase over 2014.
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