In a move that raised hackles throughout the city’s community and business associations, and vexed a few councillors and its own union, Ottawa Police has shifted over 100 specialized officers to a “frontline deployment model”. This will see community officers – who spent many years building ties to their assigned communities – reassigned to frontline work.
The new service model was presented at a public consultation held at the city hall on April 25. The model is rife with management terminology (“demand management” to “streamline intake process” in a “frontline functional model”) and less clear on how the specific needs of communities will be addressed. Residents and advocates of Hintonburg, Vanier and Lowertown spoke vehemently against the one-sided decision path that led to the new model, arguing that it takes years to build the trust and community connections that allowed to successfully address persistent issues in high-crime neighbourhoods.
They cautioned that this is a shift from proactive to reactive community policing, with unfortunate consequences. They also argued that the consultation was an afterthought, brought upon by negative public reaction. “The time for meaningful consultation is now,” said councillor Jeff Leiper, who credits community policing with addressing Hintonburg’s crackhouse problems of two decades ago. “Local community police offices are safe spaces to talk to police, and the community officer has the time and mandate to be proactive,” he added.
The police also completely withdrew service on bylaw calls. This means they are no longer responding to noise complaints or any bylaw calls unless deemed “a threat to public safety.” This is a concern in neighbourhoods with large student populations and absentee landlords. Councillor Mathieu Fleury spoke of the positive interaction between community police officers and residents, and asked for a hold on the decision to stop responding to bylaw calls; he was told by police board chair Eli El-Chantiry that the change has been in the works since 2013 and it is now a fait accompli.
OPS promised further consultation on the service initiative, and now a public survey is available on their website until June 10: http://www.ottawapolice.ca/en/news-and-community/service-initiative.asp. Have your say!