Special Constables dispatched by London City Hall divides committee over cost and necessity

CTV News London’s Daryl Newcombe details a city committee debate on creating new city hall special constables

A proposal for a new layer of law enforcement in London cleaved deep divisions between members of Council at this week’s Community and Protective Services (CAPS) Committee meeting.

On Monday, Mayor Josh Morgan’s motion requesting a staff report about launching a City of London Special Constables pilot program drew a mix of praise and skepticism from his council colleagues.

11 Special Constables would be deployed by city staff, rather than London Police, to provide safety and security at municipal facilities and city properties.

Morgan emphasized that no final decision would be made until city staff brought back a report with potential implementation models, timelines, governance structures, and operational considerations in Q1 of 2027.

The mayor suggested Special Constables would have a greater impact than the private security guards currently hired by city hall, “More legislative authority, more ability to act, more ability to protect public buildings, more ability to protect staff who work for us, municipal council, who we have a responsibility to protect.”

City of London Special Constables would have more powers and authority than Bylaw Compliance Officers and Community Informed Response (CIR) teams, but less than police officers.

A consultant’s report by Community Safety Knowledge Alliance (CSKA) recommended a two-year pilot project with 11 Special Constables at a cost of $2 million per year.

Completed in October 2025, the CSKA feasibility study has yet to be released to the public, but city staff committed to post in on the public agenda prior to next week’s Council meeting.

A copy was obtained by CTV News last week.

It identifies that the core responsibilities of a City of London Special Constable would be related to the impacts of street level homelessness:

• Protect Community Informed Response (CIR) teams during encampment engagement and clean-up
• Disorder Management (detain, remove, and charge offenders on city property, at city hall, municipal facilities, parks, and parking lots)
• Mental Health Intervention (power to apprehend and transport individuals in crisis)
• Traffic Management (parades and construction)

The CSKA feasibility study suggests the Special Constables would fill a gap in law enforcement, “Rising social disorder and limited police resources have revealed a major gap in the City’s current policing and enforcement system.”

A motion by Coun. Corrine Rahman that would have skipped the pilot project and instead directed staff to report back on an implementation strategy was narrowly defeated on a tie-vote (3-3).

Rahman saw potential in dispatching Special Constables to school zones to address road safety, although staff emphasized they would not have the ability to pursue and pull-over drivers who violated the law.

Several other councillors at the meeting had questions about the cost and necessity of creating a new layer of law enforcement.

Coun. Hadleigh McAlister suggested it could become even more confusing to the public about who to call for assistance given the city already has London Police, London Police Special Constables, Bylaw Enforcement Officers, and Community Informed Response (CIR) Teams.

“It just seems like another team,” McAlister said about City of London Special Constables.

“Do we need that many teams? Do the police just need to get more special constables? So many questions!”

Coun. David Ferreira supported getting more information before making a final decision, including whether the cost of City of London Special Constables could be taken out of the $670 million four-year police budget, “We did have a historic police budget, so I am interested to see if we can use some of that money to pay for (the pilot project).”

Coun. Susan Stevenson suggested her constituents might consider it unfair to have Special Constables dedicated to municipal buildings and properties.

“So now we’re saying, oh well, as a city we’re going to have our own team. So, we get faster access to service than the general public,” Stevenson argued.

After more than an hour, the CAPS Committee voted 4-2 to recommend getting a staff report about a pilot project.

Council will make a final decision July 22.

Special Constables would not be allowed to carry firearms or conducted energy weapons (Tasers) but would be equipped with “defensive” items including a Kevlar vest, handcuffs, a baton, and OC spray (pepper spray).

The feasibility study also recommends City of London Special Constables wear uniforms that will not be confused with London police, and “cultivate an ‘approachable’, ‘softer look’ (e.g., gray and purple colour schemes) to mitigate negative public perception.”

City of London Special Constables would have the ability to enforce four provincial acts:

• Trespass to Property Act
• Mental Health Act
• Liquor Licence Act
• Municipal Bylaws