By Dana McAllister
Police in Ottawa-Carleton say the lines between private security officers and their own officers are being blurred, putting public safety at risk.
Security companies are continually infringing on police duties, with Ottawa being no exception, says Canadian Police Association communications officer Sophie Roux.
“The private security industry is growing rapidly and it’s getting harder to differentiate between what private security officers do and what police officers do,” says Roux. “Public security is at stake here, so we must lay the grounds on who does what.”
This was the issue at the National Conference on Police and Private Security, which was held recently in Toronto to help resolve areas of jurisdiction.
The conference ended with police groups calling for stricter regulations, as well as a higher standard of training for security companies.
These issues have come up because municipalities across Ontario are considering the replacement of police officers by private security officers for some lighter tasks, like traffic control or noise disturbances.
Roux says the government is doing this out of a “bad corporate habit” of wanting to save money, even if it comes at the public’s expense.
With recent cuts to police services, security companies are a cheaper way of doing things, she says. Roux adds she worries security guards don’t have the necessary skills or training.
But security companies are getting a bad rap, says Burns International Security Company’s Mike Tereschuk. They aren’t looking to replace police, they are just helping them in providing better public service, he says.
“What we are is the eyes and ears for our clients during silent hours,” he says. “For instance, if you own a business in Centretown, our guards can patrol internally and externally, every night, seven days a week — the police can’t give you that.”
Tereschuk says public safety increases, since the presence of a security guard deters most crimes. He also stresses that his guards are not trained or encouraged to use force.
This comes at a price far less than hiring police, he says.
The price is right, says Gerry LePage, executive director of the Bank Street Promenade Business Improvement Area, which is one of the first commercial areas in Canada to use a private security company.
LePage says he still uses police, but security guards act as a “presence of authority” in times when officers may not be available. This instills a greater sense of security among both business owners and citizens, he says.
LePage sees the role of security officers as complementary to police, in both averting crimes and reporting problematic situations.
“Police have many responsibilities in the city, and as the city grows, we see things like aggressive panhandling growing too,” LePage says. “We don’t subscribe to the fact of looking for police action to this social situation, and we can’t ask taxpayers to help fund police.”
While she says she’s not happy with private security doing public policing, regional councillor for Somerset ward, Diane Holmes, says she can understand LePage’s position.
“We certainly don’t have enough police, and that’s why I can agree…, but this is not a long-term strategy,” Holmes says.
She says security guards don’t measure up to highly skilled police officers. She says hiring more police officers is Ottawa’s only answer.
“Police have much more enforcement and are more able to control a situation,” she says.
“Private security have very little powers—they’re not the same as having police officers.”
Once the new city model is in place, Holmes says she is confident money from things like speeding tickets previously going to the province, will be allocated to Ottawa. She says she’d like to see more police officers hired with this money.