By Jennifer Irving
Despite the closure of five community police centres, Ottawa police insist the Community Police model is not being tossed aside.
The centre, located in Centretown at 393 Somerset St., is not currently affected by the closures. There will still be an officer present to answer questions and work with the community on preventing crime.
Communities left without a centre will still have access to neighbourhood police officers, as well as the Community Police Centres’ (CPC) services at a different location.
“There are a variety of reasons why these centres were closed,” says Inspector Michael Flanagan. “Each centre was looked at uniquely – some are closing due to maintenance requirements while others due to proximity of other centres.”
Community policing was reviewed by an independent research firm in 2002.
The firm recommended the closure of some CPCs to the public because of expiring leases, inactivity, portable water issues, and safety concerns.
A few centres close to each other have been amalgamated, such as Bells Corners and Greenbank.
“It was not good business to keep them open with others doing the same job in close proximity,” says Flanagan.
Cons. Art Wong, the officer appointed to the Somerset CPC, says he hopes to see more people using his centre for information.
He says the centre, which is open noon to 4 p.m., is busy all day long.
“It’s 100 per cent beneficial. Even though our hours are 12 to 4, I’m still here, whether I’m conducting investigations or chatting with local businesses to ensure safety,” he says.
The recommendations made in the review are being implemented over a three-year period. According to a document on the police website, they hope to offer a model of community policing that is not restricted to CPCs.
According to the Ottawa Police Service’s website community policing can be done outside of the centres.
“Above all, there is greater recognition that successful problem-orientated policing doesn’t necessarily need to be done out of physically located police buildings,” it says.
Sgt. Randy Mar says the recent push to hire more officers will not directly affect the CPCs.
“The community police centre review has been done already. This won’t affect the strategies implemented for community police centres today,” he says.