Rethinking overtime – How WRPS Turned Data into Action

By John Fast, Mandy Williams & John Goodman

Overtime is often seen as an unavoidable cost of policing. But what if the right data could change that? At the Waterloo Regional Police Service (WRPS), it did.

By taking an evidence-based approach, the WRPS was able to reduce overtime by 25,053 hours in 2025, a 14% reduction compared to 2024.

This was not about asking members to do more with less. Instead, WRPS took a closer look at the “why” behind overtime costs, using data to uncover root causes and develop targeted, more sustainable solutions. At the heart of this effort was a simple idea: when we better understand a problem, we can deploy resources more deliberately.

The Drivers of Overtime at WRPS

Finding the right solution started with identifying the root cause of the problem.

Between 2022 and 2024, overtime costs climbed steadily – rising by an average of 28% each year, ultimately doubling what had been budgeted. By 2025, it was clear that this trajectory was not sustainable.

Financial and pay code data offered an important first clue. When analysts mapped out where and when overtime was being used, a clear pattern emerged: frontline patrol staffing shortages were driving much of the demand.

Digging deeper, the team found that the issue was not just about staffing levels - it was also about how overtime shifts were being scheduled. At the time, shifts were posted based on a fixed staffing target. That meant the same number of officers were expected on shift, regardless of whether it was a quiet weekday morning or a busy Saturday night.

In practice, this created a cycle of routine overtime. Because actual staffing levels often fell short of these static targets, overtime shifts were frequently posted to fill the gap. To test whether static staffing was a good approach, the WRPS turned to our calls for service data and asked a simple question: Was workload demand the same across all hours and days?

It was not.

The call data showed clear differences in demands for service. Weekend nights - particularly Fridays and Saturdays - were significantly busier than weekend daytime shifts (Figure 1). It became clear that overtime fill rates did not match workload demand. Officers were far more likely to pick up overtime during slower daytime shifts than during busy weekend nights (Table 1). In other words, the system was offering the most staffing at the times it was least needed and struggling to fill shifts when demand was highest.

Further analysis added another layer of insight. Whether staffing levels were above, at, or slightly below target, there were no meaningful differences in key operational indicators like response times.

Figure 1. Averaged 2024 Call Volume Shows that Weekend Night Shifts are Busier than Weekend Day Shifts

Table 1. Average Fill Rate Shows that Officers were more Likely to Work Overtime on Day Shifts (June - December 2024)

Aligning Overtime Shifts with Workload Demand

Armed with these insights, WRPS set out to test a new approach.

From April to September 2025, the organization launched a Staffing Pilot Project designed to better align overtime shifts with actual workload. Instead of holding staffing targets constant, they were adjusted based on demand:

Weekend daytime shifts (Saturday and Sunday) were reduced by five officers per shift
Weekend night shifts (Thursday, Friday, and Saturday) were increased by three officers per shift

This was not about cutting back. Instead, it was about redistributing resources to where they were needed most. The impact was immediate.

By limiting when overtime shifts were available, WRPS saw improved coverage where it mattered most. Weekend shift fill rates climbed to an average of 81%, compared to 63% during the same period the previous year. More importantly, the re-alignment of overtime shifts happened without compromising service delivery or member wellbeing. We saw:

Response times remained steady across both reduced and increased staffing periods
Sick time trends stayed consistent with the previous year
More casual time off was approved
Missed lunches (a key indicator of operational strain) dropped by 30%

In short, the organization was able to better match resources to demand while maintaining both performance and wellness.

Conclusion

The Staffing Pilot Project demonstrates that meaningful change does not always require novel resources. Our data-driven approach allowed WRPS to use existing resources more effectively.

By challenging long-standing assumptions and aligning staffing with actual workload, WRPS was able to curb overtime growth without negatively affecting operations or community safety.

However, we recognize that more work is needed. The pilot reinforced an ongoing need to ensure that frontline patrol is staffed with enough permanent resources to meet demand and reduce reliance on overtime in the long term.

For WRPS, this initiative marks more than a one-time improvement. It reflects a broader shift toward evidence-based decision-making, where data is increasingly used to shape how the organization plans, prioritizes, and evolves. And, in a policing environment where demands can change quickly, that kind of adaptability may be the most valuable resource of all.

Left to right: John Fast, Mandy Williams & John Goodman

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