The number of Stratford Police officers off work on a short-term basis could have an impact on the bottom line.
That’s according to Stratford Police Chief Greg Skinner who told the police services board on Wednesday afternoon that there have been a number of issues, including COVID-19, that have led to officers having to miss work.
Skinner says there are no vacancies on the staff but he adds the absenteeism level is causing some concern as they work to ensure that they have an adequate and effective frontline service.
He says there haven’t been any increased costs yet but he wanted to put the board on notice about the situation and what has been done to address it.
“Including collapsing some units to support the front-line and, also, utilize overtime to meet our minimum staffing levels to make sure that the community is safe and that the officers providing the service are safe.”
Skinner adds that non-mandatory training has been put off in some situations to meet the staffing issue.
