The Ottawa Police Association has finally approved a plan to put 15 police auxiliaries on the streets.
The idea of a volunteer program, where selected adults can undergo training and be assigned non-policing duties in the community, has been discussed since the 1995 amalgamation. But the union representing Ottawa’s 1,800 officers and support staff has in the past opposed the idea.
OPA president Charles Momy says his group’s grievances concerned the duties auxiliaries will perform as well as their appearance to the public, namely what sort of uniform they will wear.
He says Nepean experimented with the concept with mixed success. “Their auxiliaries were used to undertake traffic duties and guard crime scenes.”
He also talks of another police force whose auxiliaries wore the same uniform as regular officers, except for a slightly different pattern on their cap.
“This can confuse the public,” he says.
Last year, after new police chief Vern White was sworn in, he made it clear to Momy he wanted the city to emulate other municipalities and establish an auxiliary corps.
Orleans Ward Coun. Bob Monette, who is on the police board, has been pushing the idea since 2005.
But Momy says the program was always presented as a cost-saving measure, which would eventually translate into less working hours and fewer resources for his members.
“We made it clear to Councillor Monette that the association would always be against auxiliaries in the way he was talking about them,” Momy says.
When negotiations began last year, Momy says it soon became clear that a pilot project of some sort would happen regardless of the OPA’s objections. “We thought we should get involved to set the parameters,” he explains.
Staff Sgt. Terry Welsh, of the Ottawa Police Services Central Division, says the current plan is for auxiliaries to work in collaboration with Community Police Centres.
They would be assigned crime prevention tasks such as monitoring parades and helping with Neighborhood Watch initiatives.
The volunteers would also be asked to give out information leaflets at fairs and other public events. “When you get a familiar face from the community, the outreach works much better,” he says.
Welsh estimates that the cost of preparing each volunteer, aged 20 or older, should not exceed $100.
A background check by the police’s human resources department, a one-week training session, the purchase of a t-shirt, which he calls “an identifier” instead of a uniform, should sum up the expenses.
Monette puts the individual cost closer to $1,000 but he says each volunteer would produce the equivalent of $200 of work per year.
“I am sure that when we evaluate the program after the two-year review period, we will be doubling the number of auxiliaries.”
The main challenge according to Welsh will be to recruit a cross-section of individuals from all areas of the city.
No gender quotas are being considered, but Welsh says he hopes the program will attract representatives from Ottawa’s several ethnic communities.
The police board is meeting on Jan. 28 to vote on the proposed auxiliary corps plan. If members give their go-ahead, as is expected, volunteers could begin training this spring.