Kingston Police ended 2025 with a surplus of more than $850,000, managing to stay in the black despite a costly cyber incident and rising workplace safety claims.
The police force spent just over 98 percent of its approved budget last year. However, Chief Adam McIntosh noted the surplus was largely driven by delayed hiring and staff vacancies rather than a decrease in operational pressures.
A major cyberattack disrupted operations in 2025, costing the force roughly $1 million to manage and secure its systems.
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“We really tightened our belts, including some staff hiring, in order to address the forecasted issue related to our cyber incident,” McIntosh said.
“We were very fortunate due to some excellent response (from) our IT department, as well as by support from other services, to be able to mitigate that to the level it was. And so all things considered, we ended up relatively OK.”
Beyond the cyber incident, the force also saw a nearly $400,000 overrun in Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) premiums. McIntosh attributes this to an increase in officers coming forward with PTSD and job-related mental health claims.
“It’s an indication that things are actually working in the sense of allowing people to be able to come forward and make claims where maybe in the past they would have just continued working,” McIntosh said. “Yes, it comes at a cost, but also we have to consider that a fundamental support for our officers.”
Police Services Board Chair Greg Ridge expressed relief at the financial outcome, noting the transition “from a deficit to now a surplus” by finding new ways to be efficient.