Law finally overhauls oversight of OPP
Law finally overhauls oversight of OPP
New amalgamated board will govern Northumberland detachment
After about 12 years of review, revision, and rethinking, in part due to a change in government that had a different philosophy, a new Ontario police act is set to take effect on April 1 that will impact police and the way they are governed.
As part of the change, the Trent Hills Police Services Board is being replaced by a single amalgamated Northumberland County Detachment Board that will represent Trent Hills, Brighton, the townships of Hamilton, Cramahe, and Alnwick/Haldimand, and Alderville First Nation.
The new board will have 10 members, one from each municipality, one from Alderville, two community representatives, and two provincially appointed representatives. Councillor Rob Pope will represent Trent Hills.
Pope said in an interview that there is still a lot of uncertainty about how the board will operate since some regulations required to put it in place are not ready. The act was passed five years ago but has been the subject of many meetings ahead of being implemented.
“There board has lot more responsibility,” Pope said.
Under the Community Safety and Policing Act, board members will be required to have training in “human rights, systemic racism, and other training that promotes recognition and respect for the diverse and multicultural character of Ontario’s society, and the rights and cultures of First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples,” a ministry spokesperson said. Board members will be required to complete some of that training before they can attend a meeting.
In the past, the Trent Hills board met only four times a year, but the new board is expected to meet monthly and play a greater oversight role.
Pope said the local detachment has been adding staff recently and he hopes that continues with a new board. “We're getting more officers. We're getting close to a full complement.”
At its meeting on Tuesday, council voted that the $4,000 allocated in the 2024 budget to the old board should be transferred to the new one and agreed to spend up to an extra $7,500, if required.
It also agreed to support the appointment of former Liberal MPP Lou Rinaldi and Erik Kowal, a local resident who had been chair of the Trent Hills Police Services Board, as the community representatives on the board.
Under the new act, some duties currently conducted by police officers could be done by civilians, a move that would save money.
The Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) “has played an active role with the provincial government to help modernize policing,” said Colin Best, AMO President and Councillor in Halton Region. “AMO understands that the creation of OPP detachment boards was largely supported by municipalities because it extends police governance to every community. Previously, more than 175 municipalities did not participate in police governance.
“Municipalities have been engaged and provided input in the composition for their detachment boards,” Best said. “Maintaining public health and safety is a major goal of municipal governments."
The new rules also allow police chiefs to suspend officers without pay in some circumstances. Under the old Police Services Act, the only time a police officer wouldn't get paid while suspended is if they were convicted and sentenced to imprisonment. There have been some controversial cases in which officers were paid for several years because they had avoided a prison sentence.
The new act also creates the position of inspector general, who will be appointed to inspect and monitor how police services, boards and chiefs are complying with the new law, as well as investigate misconduct by police service board members.