ONTARIO CIVILIAN COMMISSION ON POLICE SERVICES
IN THE MATTER OF an application for consent to the abolition of the Point Edward Police Service
Presiding Members:
Frederic G. Farrell, Q.C., Member
Bob Saracino, Member
Appearances:
Barbara Horner, Mayor, Village of Point Edward
Heather Nordell, Chair, Point Edward Police Services Board
Leo Mayer, Chief, Point Edward Police Service
Stan Korosec, Sergeant, Ontario Provincial Police, Petrolia Detachment
Hearing Date: Wednesday, April 28, 1999
Background:
The Village of Point Edward (“the Village”) is an urban community composed of approximately 2400 residents and is situated in south west Ontario. More particularly, it abuts the larger community of Sarnia and lies at a point where the St. Clair River and Lake Huron meet. It is also a border community directly across the river from Port Huron, Michigan. Point Edward celebrated its centennial as a corporation in 1978, but the community was in existence prior to that date.
The Village has its own police service which has served the community for more than 100 years. The police service consists of a chief of police, five patrol constables and one clerical support person. The service has one marked cruiser and a marked van. The headquarters for the Point Edward Police Service is located at 217 Michigan Avenue. The building which contains the police headquarters was also occupied by the former Public Utilities Commission.
The service provides 24 hour policing through rotating 10 hour shifts, with a minimum of one officer working during days, afternoons and nights. The supervisor to constable ratio is one to five, and a police to population ratio of one to 400.
The Process:
In 1997 the Point Edward Police Services Board (the “Board”) began to focus on the future of policing in their community, especially in light of the upcoming adequacy and effectiveness standards which become effective on January 1,
2001, as well as the economics associated with policing in the 1990’s. Accordingly both the Board and the Council for the Village made a unanimous decision to seek a Request for Proposal (RFP) from the Sarnia Police Service, the Point Edward Police Service and the Ontario Provincial Police (the “OPP”). On September 11, 1997 Point Edward Council (the “Council”) passed a resolution requesting a proposal for policing services from each of the foregoing.
To facilitate their decision, a Police Restructuring Committee was created composed of representatives from the Village Council, the Board, the Chief of Police and a member of the Police Association. Police Services Advisor Moe Hodgson from the Ministry of the Solicitor General and Correctional Services assisted the committee.
On October 14, 1997 the Ministry gave approval for the OPP to provide a costing. On June 11, 1998 the Village delivered an RFP document to each of the Point Edward Police Service, the Sarnia Police Service and the OPP outlining the parameters for their policing requirements. On November 17, 1998 a public meeting was held within the Village providing an opportunity for the public to obtain information and to have open discussion and debate on the policing issues affecting the community. The meeting was well attended with approximately 250 residents present.
On November 23, 1998 Council unanimously passed a resolution accepting the OPP proposal. On the same date, the Board unanimously passed a similar resolution.
The Village of Point Edward applied to the Commission for permission to disband the Point Edward Police Service in order to enter into an agreement with the Ministry of the Solicitor General and Correctional Services to receive policing services from the OPP. Upon receiving the required application and appropriate documentation, the request was tabled at the Commission’s March 8, 1999 meeting. It was determined that a public meeting would be held in Point Edward on April 28, 1999. Notices to this effect were published in local newspapers.
The Law:
Policing in Ontario is governed by the provisions of the Police Services Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.15 as amended (the “Act”).
Section 4(1) of the Act imposes upon municipalities the obligation to provide
“adequate and effective police services in accordance with its needs”. This may
be accomplished in a number of different ways. A municipality may establish and maintain its own police force, enter into a joint policing arrangement with another municipality, or contract for policing services from the OPP.
For a police service to be “adequate and effective” it must have the necessary staff, administration, equipment, infrastructure and facilities to perform certain functions. According to section 4(2) of the Act these include crime prevention, law enforcement, assistance to victims of crime, public order maintenance, and emergency response.
Once a municipal police force has been established, it can only be abolished for the purpose of putting in place one of the other policing options (i.e. OPP contract policing) after following the procedures set out in the Act. Specifically, section 40 provides that:
40(1) A board may terminate the employment of a member of the police force for the purpose of abolishing the police force… if the Commission consents and if the abolition … does not contravene this Act.
(2) The Commission shall consent to the termination of the employment of a member of a police force under subsection (1) only if,
a) the member and the board have made an agreement dealing with severance pay or agreed to submit the matter to arbitration; or
b) the Commission has made an order under subsection
(3).
(3) If the member and the board do not make an agreement dealing with severance pay and do not agree to submit the matter to arbitration, the Commission, if it is of the opinion that it would be appropriate to permit the abolition of the police force … may order the board to submit the matter to arbitration and give any necessary direction in that connection.
If the Commission is of the view that these requirements have been met, then a municipality may enter into a contract with the Solicitor General under section 10 of the Act for policing to be provided by the OPP.
The Issues:
The nature of this scheme is to ensure that no municipal police force is abolished unless arrangements are in place which will satisfactorily meet the policing needs
of the community in question. Any new arrangement must provide for the appropriate staff, equipment and facilities to ensure adequate and effective policing. In addition, no member of a municipal police force is to be terminated without steps being taken to allow for proper severance.
There are two fundamental issues to be dealt with.
First, does the proposed new arrangement appear to provide adequate and effective police services that meets the needs of the community? In this respect, the Commission should receive and review the proposal which has been accepted by the Council and the Board and consider any public comment and submissions.
The next issue is whether or not under the proposal the current members of the police service which are the subject of the abolition are being dealt with on a fair and reasonable basis. If any member is to be terminated as a consequence of the abolition, the question then becomes whether or not the parties have reached an agreement with respect to severance or have consented to having any outstanding matters referred to arbitration. If so, the Commission is satisfied and our involvement in this issue would be at an end. However, if no agreement has been concluded, then the Commission may order the parties to arbitration on the outstanding issues.
It should be noted that under section 40, the Commission does not decide between alternative proposals or assess which method of providing policing services will be most economical or otherwise preferred. Those decisions rest solely with the local community through the appropriate Municipal Council and Police Services Board. Further, it is not the function of the Commission to determine what may or may not be an appropriate severance agreement. This function rests solely between the bargaining parties and failing an agreement, for arbitration.
Proposal:
The OPP proposal was outlined for the Commission at the hearing by Sergeant
Stan Korosec (Petrolia OPP Detachment) and is hereinafter discussed in detail.
A) Staffing:
The proposal is based upon an integrated detachment model with the Petrolia OPP Detachment as the host. There will be two patrol zones, i.e. the Village itself and a Provincial Highway zone consisting of 15 kilometers of Highway 402 and 11 kilometers of Highway 40 within the city limits of Sarnia.
Under the proposed OPP model, there will be 24 hour policing for the Village with
12 hour rotating shifts on a four platoon system. There will be a minimum of one officer working days and nights. With two patrol zones, each zone will provide backup to the other if and when needed. The Provincial Highway complement will consist of five patrol constables. The Point Edward OPP will consist of one dedicated sergeant, four patrol constables and one clerical staff person. The supervisor to constable ratio will be one to four and a police to population ratio of one to 480.
It should be noted that under the proposal all uniform and civilian members of the Point Edward Police Service have been offered employment with the OPP. The Chief will appear before a rank determination hearing to determine what rank he will hold if he chooses to join the OPP.
The Petrolia OPP Detachment, which is the host detachment, has the following staff complement (excluding the Point Edward OPP complement):
Position
Petrolia OPP
Staff Sergeant
1
Sergeants (Integrated)
4
Sergeants (Contracts)
2
D/Constables
3
Community Services
1
Constable (Court)
1
Patrol Constables
28
Patrol Constables (Contracts)
13
Total Uniform
53
Clerical Support
3
Total Civilian
3
In addition to the above, there is also a 20 member OPP auxiliary police unit operating out of the detachment to which the Village of Point Edward will also have access.
B) Facilities:
The existing Point Edward headquarters located at 217 Michigan Avenue will be utilized and both patrol zones, i.e. the Village and the Highway patrol zone will be deployed from this location. It will be open to the public from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. The existing 500 square foot premises will be fully renovated and extended to include that portion of the building previously
occupied by the Public Utilities Commission. Upon completion, the renovated facility will occupy 2400 square feet, almost five times its current size and will include a handicap access washroom, locker rooms, showers, secure storage for officers’ weapons and long guns, interview rooms and processing for suspects. Council has set aside the sum of $70,000.00 for the cost of these renovations. With respect to jail facilities, the Village has used and will continue to use the Sarnia jail which contains 99 cells.
C) Communications:
Under the proposal, officers will be dispatched from the OPP Communication Centre in Chatham-Kent which is a 24 hour operation with 18 full time dispatchers, six sergeants and one staff sergeant. A communications sergeant is on duty 24 hours a day for operational support. The OPP Telecommunication System uses microwave linking of towers and in the event of an emergency, there is backup provided by batteries and a diesel generator. The OPP radio system is capable of several methods of communication. Each officer will have a portable radio while on patrol and is also capable of officer to officer communications. An enhanced emergency 911 system will be available together with public toll-free lines to the Communications Centre 24 hours a day.
D) Vehicles and Equipment:
Under the proposal there will be three fully marked cruisers, i.e. two fully marked cruisers will be available for policing the Village and one fully marked cruiser for the Highway patrol unit. The Point Edward OPP will be equipped with one intoxilyzer, two alcotesters, two radar units, Sig Sauer semi-automatic pistols for each uniformed member, shotguns and long guns and one spike belt. Former Point Edward officers will receive the required training with respect to the new firearms.
E) Additional Benefits:
Record management will be switched to the Ontario Municipal and Provincial Police Automation Co-Operative (OMPPAC) which is currently used by the OPP. The Point Edward officers will be given training with respect to this management system. The OPP Petrolia Detachment has been utilizing a business plan which now will include Point Edward. The plan establishes goals, objectives and initiatives to provide better policing to the community and at the same time establish a rapport with the citizens in the community they serve.
Decision:
Is the proposal as presented by the OPP and approved by both Council and the Board likely to provide the Village of Point Edward with adequate and effective police services?
The Act does not currently define what constitutes adequate and effective police services. However, interpretive aids are available to assist in this determination as to what constitutes adequate and effective police services, namely: the provisions of the Act itself and precedent, i.e. past decisions of the Commission. In particular, section 4(2) of the Act states:
4(2) Adequate and effective police services must include, at a minimum, all of the following police services:
Crime prevention.
Law enforcement.
Assistance to victims of crime.
Public order maintenance.
Emergency response.
Section 4(3) sets out that a municipality must provide “all the infrastructure and administration necessary for providing such services, including vehicles, boats, equipment, communication devices, buildings and supplies”.
Commission decisions in various contexts have articulated different tests to assess or determine adequacy. At page 15 of Municipality of Chatham-Kent (14
August, 1998) we stated:
Broadly these tests have been comparative or alternative. The comparative tests may be applied historically or geographically. Where it is applied historically, the current or proposed staffing level is compared to that which the municipality has received in the past. If past staffing levels were considered adequate the proposed or current level is normally presumed to be adequate and effective.
Where the comparative test is applied geographically, the proposed or current staffing level is measured against those found in communities of similar size or needs. If the levels are considered adequate in those communities a similar level proposed is generally presumed to be adequate and effective. These presumptions are by definition rebuttable.
How does this test apply to the facts of this case?
The Village of Point Edward has approximately 2400 residents and currently receives policing from the Point Edward Police Service. It has a chief, five patrol
constables and one civilian support person. The proposal is to enter into an agreement with the Ministry of the Solicitor General and Correctional Services to receive policing services from the OPP. The proposal calls for an integrated policing model for the Village with the Petrolia OPP Detachment being the “host detachment”. The proposal provides for two patrol zones, i.e. Point Edward itself and the Provincial Highway complement previously described. The Point Edward OPP will have one dedicated sergeant, four patrol constables and one clerical support person. The Provincial Highway complement will have five patrol constables.
In addition to being an integrated structure, they will also have the assistance of the Petrolia OPP Detachment providing the availability of a significant number of additional uniformed police officers if circumstances warrant. The supervisor to constable ratio under the new arrangement will be one to four and the police to citizen ratio of one to 480. While the supervisor to constable ratio is currently one to five and the police to citizen ratio is currently one to 400, under the proposal there is the sizeable advantage of being able to draw upon the resources of the host detachment, namely the Petrolia OPP which is located only
37 kilometers away. These ratios still compare very favourably when compared to other similar communities in the Province, i.e. North Perth. In fact, the proposed police to population ratio is excellent.
The level of 24 hour policing will remain the same. However, instead of the current 10 hour shift, there will be 12 hour shifts on a four platoon system with a minimum of one officer working days and nights. As stated above, the proposal provides for two patrol zones. It should be noted that in the event of a crisis in either patrol zone, officers working the Provincial Highway or officers working within the Village itself could provide immediate backup to whichever zone is facing a crisis. In the event of a major crisis, the OPP in Petrolia could be drawn upon since as stated above, they are only 37 kilometers away.
Based upon an integrated structure, the proposal should have the combined effect of:
making available additional front line officers if and when needed;
reducing police administration as it currently exists; and
better preparation for the provincial adequacy and effectiveness standards which come into effect on January 1, 2001.
In addition, the proposal appears to significantly raise local policing capabilities. From the standpoint of staffing deployment and supervision, the proposal overall appears sound and should allow for adequate and effective policing.
We now must consider a series of other factors. The facilities out of which policing will be provided to the community will remain at 217 Michigan Avenue.
The existing facility is only 500 square feet but under the proposal the facility will be substantially renovated to increase the size to 2400 square feet. This will be accomplished by assuming additional space within the building formerly occupied by the Public Utilities Commission. The renovations will include additional amenities, i.e. handicap access washroom, locker room, showers, secure storage for officers’ weapons and long guns, interview rooms and accommodation for processing suspects.
At the hearing we were informed that tenders would be going out within a few days and once a contractor had been selected, the renovations would commence quickly thereafter. We were provided with a copy of the proposed architectural plans for the renovations. We were satisfied that these facilities once renovated would provide an adequate and effective facility for dispensing policing to the community. It is also appropriate that the existing facility is being utilized since the citizens of Point Edward have come to look upon the facility as a source of protection for themselves and their families for several years.
While the police service utilized one marked cruiser and one marked van, the proposal will provide for two marked cruisers for the Point Edward OPP and one additional marked cruiser for the Highway patrol unit. Point Edward OPP will also have a variety of equipment and firearms consisting of the following: one intoxilyzer, two alcotesters, two radar units, Sig Sauer semi-automatic pistols for each uniformed member, shotguns and long guns and one spike belt.
The officers will also be trained by the OPP In-Service Training Unit with respect to the new firearms prior to implementation. The current records management will be adopted to the OMPPAC system which should provide greater efficiency in record retrieval information.
Insofar as communications are concerned, this should be an improvement both for the officers and the public at large. Point Edward OPP will be dispatched out of the OPP Communications Centre in Chatham-Kent, which centre is operated
24 hours a day. All radio and telephone conversations coming in or going out from the centre are recorded. The community will also have the benefit of the enhanced 911 system which provides the caller’s name and address. Finally the OPP proposal will include the Village in their business plan which is updated from time to time and when circumstances warrant. The business plan is a plan or strategy which encompasses goals, objectives and initiatives for the police. This plan can include the R.I.D.E. program, public relations support for community based volunteer organizations, education on crime avoidance, utilization of bike patrols and close co-operation with such organizations as Crime Stoppers.
Under the proposal, the vehicles, equipment, communications and availability of the business plan are all very positive enhancements to policing the Village of Point Edward. Overall, the proposal should provide adequate and effective
policing to the community and should result in less administration and duplication of services and make better use of more advanced equipment, communications and records management. Taken in its entirety, we are satisfied that the OPP proposal will provide adequate and effective policing for the Village of Point Edward.
At the hearing, all of the presenters, Barbara Horner, the Mayor, Heather Nordell, the Chair of the Point Edward Police Service, Chief Leo Mayer and Sergeant Stan Korosec, Petrolia OPP, expressed their support to the proposal. Members of the public were encouraged to participate and to make their comments and criticisms known. There were no objections from the public who attended at the hearing, which demonstrated that they were satisfied with the proposal. The formal proposal, the written submissions delivered in advance of the hearing and the oral submissions at the hearing itself were very detailed and demonstrated the significant amount of effort and input by municipal officials, the police and the OPP. It was evident that every effort was made to inform the public on the proposal and address the concerns of the community.
This brings us to the important issue of termination and severance, i.e. whether or not a member of the police service is to be terminated as a consequence of abolishing the Point Edward Police Service and if so, whether the parties involved have reached an agreement with respect to severance, or have the parties involved consented to have the matter referred to arbitration. Under the proposal, a chief of police will no longer be required. At the hearing it was confirmed that no agreement had been reached with the Chief of Police, Leo Mayer. Likewise, while each officer and the civilian support person has been offered employment with the OPP, no termination or severance agreements have been reached. Accordingly, our decision will be conditional upon the issue of termination and severance being either resolved through agreement or arbitration, with arbitration being mutually agreed to or by an express order of the Commission to proceed to arbitration.
Accordingly, pursuant to s. 40 of the Act we hereby consent to the abolition of the Point Edward Police Service in order that policing can be provided by means of a contract with the Solicitor General for the services of the Ontario Provincial Police. This consent is subject to the parties reaching an agreement on the issue of termination and severance or upon the parties mutually agreeing to have the issues resolved by arbitration within 45 days of this decision, failing which such matters shall be referred to arbitration and shall commence no later than 90 days after the date of this decision.
At this time, we would like to acknowledge the Point Edward Police Service which has served the citizens of the Village of Point Edward and the people of Ontario for over 100 years. At the hearing, we were provided by Chief Leo Mayer with a copy of the History of the Point Edward Police Service. It clearly demonstrated that policing in earlier times was a much simpler task compared to
the requirements of policing in 1999. Coincidentally, it was interesting to read that the Village received police services from the OPP in the early 1950’s. During the hearing it was indicated that the OPP cruisers within the Village will still bear the name Point Edward on the vehicles. This is most appropriate. This will be a visible and constant reminder to the citizens of Point Edward that despite a change in the provider of police services, the past is still a very real part of their community.
In conclusion, we would like to express our appreciation to all the presenters at the hearing for the professional manner in which the entire process was carried out.
DATED THIS 3RD DAY OF JUNE, 1999
Frederic G. Farrell, Q.C. Bob Saracino
Member, OCCPS Member, OCCPS