Why London police may no longer be responding to noise complaints
A joint pilot project between city hall and the London Police Service (LPS) will see municipal by-law officers respond to most noise complaints.
During the final quarter of 2022, an eight-member team of municipal noise and parking enforcement officers will respond to noise complaints 24/7.
Only noise complaints with a criminal or violent element will be directed to police officers.
The majority of calls (non-criminal in nature) would be dispatched to lower cost municipal by-law officers who divide their time between parking and noise complaints.
A report by city staff explains, “When noise complaints peak in the evenings, parking service requests are low; when parking enforcement demands are high, such as for morning school zones, noise complaints are low.”
Between 2019 and 2022, London police responded to an average of 2,700 noise complaints per year — taking a big bite out of officers’ time to respond to calls that are more serious.
The pilot requires transferring four existing parking enforcement officers from the existing group and hiring four new noise and parking enforcement officers.
A management position will also be required.
Parking services officers have a return-on-investment (ROI) of 120 to 200 per cent based on ticket revenue.
In addition to the ROI, civic administration is proposing an increase to parking fines to limit the cost to the city’s tax base.
The Community and Protective Services Committee will receive details about the pilot project on Tuesday.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
2 teens charged in Halifax homicide: police
Two teenagers have been charged with second-degree murder in connection to an alleged homicide near the Halifax Shopping Centre earlier this week.
'Deep ignorance': Calls for Manitoba trustee to resign sparked after comments about Indigenous people and reconciliation
A rural Manitoba school trustee is facing calls to resign over comments he made about Indigenous people and residential schools earlier this week.
12-year-old hippo in Japan raised as a male discovered to be a female
When Gen-chan arrived at a zoo in Japan in 2017, no one questioned whether the then-five-year-old hippopotamus was a boy. Seven years later, zoo staff made a surprising discovery: Gen-chan, now 12, was female.
Here's why Harvey Weinstein's New York rape conviction was tossed and what happens next
Here's what you need to know about why movie mogul Harvey Weinstein's rape conviction was thrown out and what happens next.
Legendary hockey broadcaster Bob Cole dies at 90: CBC
Bob Cole, a welcome voice for Canadian hockey fans for a half-century, has died at the age of 90. Cole died Wednesday night in St. John's, N.L., surrounded by his family, his daughter, Megan Cole, told the CBC.
Humanist group threatening to sue Vancouver over council prayers
The B.C. Humanist Association has threatened legal action against the City of Vancouver for allowing prayers at council, following a similar warning issued earlier this month to a smaller community on Vancouver Island.
LHSC performs a Canadian first in robot-assisted direct lateral spine surgery
Spine surgery may never be the same for people with chronic back pain and other physical ailments.