COPS continues to fight to keep local police service

Obscenely high and unsustainable policing costs. OPP bills are destroying communities its officers are supposed to protect. Apparent self-interest is cloaked in the guise of public safety needs. Where is the political outrage while OPP costs continue to climb? Who is going to bring policing costs in this province under control?

COPS continues to fight to keep local police service

Postby Thomas » Thu Apr 03, 2014 3:28 pm

The municipality of Brockville has a right to be deeply concerned over the future of policing costs.

That's why Citizens Offering Police Support (COPS) is urging city council to look at all the details and think long and hard before pondering any switch from the municipal force to the Ontario Provincial Police.

COPS was created in the fall of 2012 when Brockville council indicated it was beginning a process to seek a costing from the OPP which potentially could result in the replacement of the 182-year-old city police department - the oldest police service in Ontario. On a committee that has evolved since its start, there are currently 18 solid, common-sense members from the community. It's a committee that is representative of the city with public and private sector individuals, business people and concerned citizens.

The committee also includes six retired city police members (four chiefs and two officers), who are providing the benefit of their long-time experience and concern for the community.

The mandate for COPS is to raise awareness of the benefits of the city police

force over the uncertainty of change - financial and services - to the OPP.

COPS also emphasizes that it does not support the status quo of rising policing costs for the current city force. Policing costs have to be adjusted to reflect the ability of the community to pay for the service. Changes have to be made to ensure a sustainable service for the future. Other municipalities in the province made the switch from a local police force to the OPP and have been struggling with skyrocketing OPP costs, along with a lack of control in how their community is actually policed.

The OPP current costing model that determines how much a municipality pays for its service has created confusion and concerns around the province for those who are now under contract with the OPP. This has caused the OPP to revisit the model.

Many municipalities continue to be very vocal about their limited ability to control or influence costs and services under an OPP contract. It's been frustrating for communities who are being told it is out of their control and that negotiations are not possible.

The above concerns do not include one time transition costs when moving from a municipal police force to the OPP that would include severance packages to the current city officers along with the required facility upgrades to meet provincial standards. Other communities are finding out those additional costs are a burden that will take years to recover. Council should watch closely to see if budgets were met in Perth and Pembroke who recently signed on with the OPP.

Under the current policing model, the Brockville Police Services Board and city council have control over budgets, services

and personnel. With the OPP, the city would have no local input on how policing is handled.

That is why COPS is fighting to keep the city police force. It seems like the best option would be to keep the current city police force and work towards finding a local solution to rising costs. The Brockville Police Services Board is making meaningful efforts to find long-term efficiencies and savings.

COPS encourages and supports those efforts. Local control equals local solutions. Accountability should be local and local citizens should maintain absolute oversight of their police services.

COPS believes that the city police force is the best decision for Brockville. The committee is going to do its best to spread that word to council and to the taxpayers. We encourage citizens to become knowledgeable on this issue as it will be important for our community moving forward.

Anyone interested in contacting COPS can do so at copsbrockville@gmail.com .

Submitted by Bob Larocque and Dorothy Theobald, co-chairs/Citizens Offering Police Support (COPS).

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