SUDBURY -- The cost of policing is going up in Sudbury.

Greater Sudbury Police Service (GSPS) is asking for around a five per cent increase in the proposed budget for 2020, raising the cost to $63 million annually.

The police service says it needs more staff and is also calling for much more money to put towards officer health and wellness.

Many officers say policing these days is hard and stressful work. 

Hearing there are not enough officers is a common complaint in any Canadian city.

"In a uniform capacity, whether they’re driving around in a police car, whether they’re in a detective office being more part of serious investigations, whether it’s our traffic branch. Everybody’s stretched and that really plays a huge role on our members' mental health,” said Ryan Hutton, of Sudbury Police Association.

Sudbury Police Chief Paul Pedersen says it is not just a Sudbury issue.

"It’s national, it’s international, it’s the unique demands on this profession, and it’s been recognized before in some other professions, the military specifically, and we’re seeing it now in our profession and this is us reacting to those pressures," said Pedersen.

What the GSPS is proposing would mean additional psychological services and new hires in areas, such as cybercrime, and would free up officers elsewhere.

"We all talk about breaking down the stigma around mental wellness and mental illness, and so when we do break down the stigma and see people step up and say they need help, we shouldn’t be surprised that we then have to support them," said Pedersen.

The request has been green-lit by the Police Services Board, but still needs city council’s approval and it already has some support.

"Police services is an essential core service that we have to make sure is going to be there, and those doors on police services and the police building are open 365 days of the year, 24 hours a day," said Sudbury City Councillor Michael Vagnini.

Hutton says the additional bodies and mental health services are needed for all first responders.

"Policing and fire services, in corrections, in EMS (Emergency Medical Service), everybody’s feeling the same thing. That break is what we need," said Hutton.

The chief is calling this an investment in wellness.

Council will get the request during budget deliberations next month.