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Orangeville to transition policing services to OPP Oct. 1

September 25, 2020   ·   0 Comments

By Mike Baker

With Orangeville set to transition its policing services to the OPP in one week’s time, Town staff confirmed that a majority of existing Orangeville Police Service (OPS) officers who applied for positions with the provincial force have been extended job offers to continue working in the community. 

Andrea McKinney, the Town’s General Manager of Corporate Services, informed the Citizen this week that most components of the transition were complete. The municipality will officially switch its policing services over to the OPP next Thursday (Oct. 1). 

“Offer letters were delivered to the OPS officers and civilians two weeks ago, and the OPP is currently in the process of receiving responses. We can advise that 85 percent of officers who applied for positions received an offer,” Ms. McKinney said. “The civilians also received offer letters two weeks ago, and there will be civilians transitioning to the OPP. That process also remains underway.”

Under OPS, Orangeville currently has 42 full-time officers. The OPP committed to taking every Orangeville officer considered to be in good standing when officials made their pitch to take over policing services last year. When the Citizen enquired about what, specifically, the term ‘in good standing’ meant, OPP officials informed that, for example, individuals with a criminal record, or a slew of complaints on their working record would, in all likelihood, not be considered to be in good standing. 

On the civilian side, OPP will be reducing the number of positions from 28 down to 14. The bulk of those lost jobs come as a result of the OPP getting rid of the in-house call centre, which previously handled all 911 calls in Orangeville. Instead, local 911 calls will be rerouted to OPP headquarters in Orillia. 

With OPS Chief Wayne Kalinski not amongst those to submit an application to the OPP, the new police force charged with keeping the community safe will be operating under new leadership. Ms. McKinney stated that Nicol Randall, detachment commander of Dufferin OPP, will assume the role on an interim basis until such a time as the Town and OPP can name a permanent successor.

“The local Police Services Board will have a say in that decision,” Ms. McKinney said. “The process will commence this fall to select a permanent detachment commander.”

She added, “We understand a pool of candidates will be presented for consideration, but we do not currently have details on the potential candidates.”

It has now been more than eight months since the majority of Orangeville Council, in a six to one vote, decided to disband the OPS in favour of adopting a policing model run by the OPP. It has been estimated the Town will save as much as $58 million by 2036 by transitioning to the provincial force. 

While there may well be savings in the long-term, the Town is projecting a considerable loss in the first year of its contract with the OPP. The bulk of that can be attributed to the approximately $7.5 million in one-time transitional costs, which will cover renovations to the existing police station on C-Line, severance to OPS staff not transitioning to the OPP, and the purchase of new equipment and vehicles. 

The bulk of those costs will be covered by municipal reserves. Orangeville CAO Ed Brennan has predicted that any money taken out of reserves will be replenished over a five-year period. A consultant hired by the Town to take a deep dive into the financials of both OPS and OPP predicted the municipality would, by 2024, save an average of $4.66 million annually by transitioning to the provincial force. 

Addressing the renovations of the police station, Ms. McKinney stated construction work is moving ahead as planned, although stopped short of giving a date for when that work will be complete. It was estimated back in 2019 that renovations of the facility would set the Town back approximately $1.2 million, with Mr. Brennan informing Orangeville Council last month that he expects the project to be completed within budget. 

While the OPP will be taking over policing services in town next week, it’ll be at least a month until the officers transitioning from OPS get their first shift. Beginning Oct. 5, the OPS officers who accepted a position with the OPP will begin a four-week training course at the provincial force’s headwaters in Orillia. A graduation ceremony has, tentatively, been set for the new recruits on Oct. 30. That means that, throughout the month of October, Orangeville will be policed by out-of-town members of the OPP. 

Ms. McKinney told the Citizen that the four-week training period is tailored to bring the officers up to speed with the way OPP conducts itself and carries out its operations. 

Following years of back and forth debate, which included two separate votes on the issue, the Town’s transition to the OPP is now upon us. Coun. Todd Taylor, who also serves as chair of the Orangeville Police Services Board, said he was happy to report, in line with Ms. McKinney, that most components of the transition were complete, and he was excited to welcome the OPP to town. 

“A lot of pieces are falling into place, but there are a few loose ends just hanging out there. We, as a board, are scurrying around in a planful manner, trying to ensure we’re tying everything up with a big red bow and welcoming the OPP in a classy way,” Coun. Taylor informed the rest of Orangeville Council on Sept. 14. 

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