Ontario police chiefs meet in Chatham-Kent
Police leaders from around the province are gathering in Chatham-Kent over the next couple days, reviewing provincial safety issues.
At the top of the list is maintaining a high level of police service during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We have to ensure we provide adequate and effective policing, that’s number one,” says Gary Conn, CKPS police chief and president of the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police.
“So we want to keep our services at least at that minimum but we’re always wanting to enhance and increase the level of the services.”
Conn says mental health for officers and the public is also a top priority.
“I know locally here that we have seen our numbers increase and I think that is the trend right across the province, that more people are suffering from mental health,” he says.
Chatham-Kent Police Service will be expanding its mobile crisis team as a result.
OACP board members will also take the next couple days to review provincial public safety matters, such as guns and gangs.
“Not just the parties involved but other pressing issues such as exportation, importation, get to the root cause of these offences,” says Conn.
The implementation of body worn cameras to mid-size police forces like Chatham-Kent will be up for discussion as well.
“We will run a three to six-month pilot project in regards to body warn cameras with eventual rollout to all of our frontline workers by hopefully the 1st or 2nd quarter of 2023,” he says.
Lawyer and former police officer Dan Scott believes the added piece of technology will protect both officers and the public.
“It’s a sign of the times and it’s just another necessary tool on their belt,” Scott says.
Other items on the two-day agenda include overcoming systemic racism in law enforcement.
“In 2022, we have a pretty fulsome work plan right across the province to make some systemic changes,” says Nishan Duraiappah, first Vice President of OACP.
A step in the right direction, according to University of Windsor professor, Natalie Delia Deckard.
“This is really important work that they’re doing and it’s something we can collectively take pride in,” Decakrd tells CTV News.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.