Dryden, Ont., city council to hear policing recommendation

A committee tasked with determining the best way to police Dryden, Ont., recommends sticking with the status quo.

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City councillors in Dryden will hear Thursday night from the Police Costing Committee, which notes in its final report, the city should continue to use the Dryden Police Service, instead of switching to the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP).

The group is comprised of city councillors, the police services board chair and a member of the public, which have been studying the possibility of switching policing providers since June, 2017.

In its final report, the committee notes governance, financials, employee impacts and public perceptions were all considered before making a final decision.

As part of its analysis, the committee wrote in switching to the OPP, the local police services board would lose the ability to hold the, "Chief [of] Police directly accountable for police services operations." 

It also noted budgeting and labour negotiations would no longer be local, along with a reduction in direct control to what policing services are provided in the community.

For service, the analysis had a major focus on the full-time Community Services Officer deployed by the Dryden Police Service, which would be only a partial position with the OPP. The officer from the provincial force would have to spend time in other communities as well.

Other issues for service included more officers, which was a positive, but also leads to increased cost. The ability for the OPP to send more officers to an incident within city limits was seen as a positive, as the provincial model uses a flexible dispatching system.

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From a financial perspective, the committee noted $4.5M would needed to be spent upfront to transition to the OPP. 

While the provincial force could save the municipality money within five years of operations, there was no guarantee service costs would remain the same, which was a concern. 

The upfront transition costs were the main concern for the committee, which together with risks in future operational costs, and a high debt load in the city until 2020, were the reasons the group could not recommend moving to the provincial force.

The report also noted current officers and employees with the Dryden Police Service were not guaranteed positions with the OPP, and the costing process had created uncertainty amongst staff.

The public input was clear that it fully supported keeping the municipal service.

City council in Dryden will hear the report on Thursday, with a decision expected the week of May 20.

The full Police Costing Committee report can be found here.