Toronto police officials have always said the city needs more police officers per capita than the so-called 905 regions primarily because of the influx of commuters to work every day.

But are there enough inbound commuters to justify what appears to be a significant difference? Or should Toronto reduce its complement of officers?

In a recent media briefing, police spokesperson Mark Pugash claimed Toronto sees a “massive” increase in weekday population, which he estimated at a million or more.

“We police all the people who are in the city, so the bedroom communities that disgorge all their people into Toronto every day don’t have the burden of policing, of the traffic, of all the other issues. We have that.”

It’s a number echoed by Alok Mukherjee, Toronto police board chair.

But travel studies from 2006 by the University of Toronto, City of Toronto and Statistics Canada show a net influx into the city averaging only about 175,000 people on weekdays.

Currently, Toronto has 212 officers per 100,000 population, versus 150 in Peel Region. In York Region, the ratio falls to 141, and in Halton to 126.

The difference has repercussions for Toronto as the city’s net police budget approaches the $1 billion mark, the costliest item in the budget. Last year the police were able to wrestle a budget increase from the Ford administration at a time when restraint was being demanded.

Budget committee chair Mike Del Grande has already focused attention on whether Toronto’s complement of 5,604 officers is the right number.

“The budget chief has been very clear that we need an explanation as to why we need the current level of policing,” said Councillor Peter Milczyn, a budget committee member assigned to review the police budget.

“Nobody’s ever questioned it or challenged it, in a considerable period of time, and it’s a fair question to ask: Do we have the right number of police officers?”

Commuting has become more of a two-way flow in recent years, a trend noted by the Toronto Board of Trade as more and more 416ers travel to jobs in the surrounding regions.

Milczyn noted that Toronto’s inflow and outflow is roughly balanced with Peel and York, while there’s still a large influx from Durham.

“A lot of people go out of the city to work,” he said. “I know as part of this year’s budget review, the budget chief is asking the question, I’m asking the question and we’re having a dialogue with the chief and the police services board as to whether 5,604 is the right number.”

Mukherjee said in a discussion paper last year that the city sees an “infusion of vast numbers of additional people daily.” In an email, he indicated his information corresponds with Pugash’s estimated influx of about 1 million.

Milczyn agreed the city needs more officers per capita than the regions, not so much for commuting workers but for tourists and other visitors.

“I’m not sure we’re terribly worried about a huge increase in crime rates in the financial district during the day, when the office towers fill up,” he said.

“But we have events they don’t have in the 905 — concerts, ball games. We have all the consular security details. Mississauga doesn’t have protests in front of the U.S. Consulate to deal with.”

Councillor Adam Vaughan, who served on the police board during David Miller’s mayoralty, agreed that Toronto requires more police resources.

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“People are coming to the Rogers Centre, the ACC, the art gallery, the Eaton Centre, the Entertainment District,” Vaughan said. “It’s not just work. The city is a place to both work and play.”

Toronto also a higher murder rate. In 2011, Toronto had one murder for about every 59,000 residents, while in Peel the rate was one murder for every 79,000 residents.

Still, the budget committee makes no apologies for zeroing in on the cost of policing, Milczyn said.

“The police service is our single biggest budget. It’s grown faster than most budgets, and every other department has taken its share of reductions. The police, like anybody else, have to really be able to justify every penny.”

Police numbers

Number of police officers per 100,000 population

• Toronto: 212

• Peel: 150

• York: 141

• Durham: 148

• Halton: 126

Source: Statistics Canada, Police Resources in Canada, 2011