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Orangeville Police Services Board nails down its governance role with OPP

April 6, 2023   ·   0 Comments

By JAMES MATTHEWS, LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE REPORTER

The Orangeville Police Services Board has redefined its role with the OPP.

Ian McSweeney, vice-chairperson of the Orangeville Police Services Board, updated town council on its governance reform project when it met Apr. 3.

He said the current police services board that oversees the Ontario Provincial Police in town has different responsibilities than the board that worked with the former Orangeville Police Service (OPS).

The new board doesn’t have collective bargaining powers or the ability to hire and fire the local police chief, and some budgeting aspects are no longer under its purview.

“That transition from the OPS to the OPP caused the board to really dig into all of its governance documents and try to figure out what changes need to be made in order to properly reflect that transition,” McSweeney said.

That review was delayed because the board was occupied with transition items and legacy issues. Simply put, there was a tonne of other things that also had to be done.

“But I’m happy to say those legacy issues have been largely resolved at this point,” he said.

And the group’s bylaws, policies, and procedures have been reworked into a final draft that hasn’t been approved yet. McSweeney said the rewritten and consolidated document will be presented to town council when it’s ready.

The board has the responsibility to inform the detachment commander with respect to the level of police services.

Perhaps the most complicated role of the board with the OPP over the OPS is the responsibility to determine the adequacy and effectiveness of police services, McSweeney said. It’s known as the Adequacy Standards Regulation (ASR).

“By the way, that’s the guts of all of this,” he said.

To fulfill its role, the board is mindful of its responsibilities under applicable legislation and the ASR, McSweeney said.

“We need to establish a general statement of the current objectives and priorities of the board to fulfill our oversight role,” he said, and added that goes hand-in-hand with the consolidation of policies.

It’s gone through 20 drafts.

“It’s really intended to be a comprehensive document that pulls everything together,” he said. “And it’s based on best practices.”

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