Balancing workload means part of Courtice will be policed out of Oshawa
Feb 04, 2010 - 11:39 AM
By Jennifer Stone
CLARINGTON -- Even though some officers serving the west end of Clarington will start their day in Oshawa, residents of the municipality should be served as well or better than before, say Durham Regional Police representatives.
Police recently rolled out results of a staffing analysis project to Clarington councillors. The project looked at how police are deployed.
When Durham's regional police force first came into being in 1974, "patrol zones were based on municipal boundaries," Inspector Dave Kimmerly said. "Over the years, there have been some refinements, but we stayed within municipal boundaries."
That no longer works, he said. Policing that way is "now not reflective of workload, travel time or geographic barriers."
So, DRP undertook the project, using an array of measures to determine how best to deploy their resources. The priority is "getting boots on the ground as quickly as possible" when needed, Insp. Kimmerly said.
"Staffing is now attached to the amount of workload and workload is attached to the amount of geography as well," he said.
Clarington's police detachment, formerly known as 16 Division or the Clarington community office, is now referred to as East Division.
Under the new method, Courtice is being responded to by officers deployed out of Oshawa's detachment -- though that could change when Clarington's new detachment is built.
Police are awaiting approval of a plan to build a new detachment in Clarington. Chief Mike Ewles said he anticipates it being open in 2013.
The new model should mean "enhanced" service, Insp. Kimmerly said.
"This helps us move to a more proactive, problem-solving model," he noted.
And, though some officers serving parts of Clarington won't call the current detachment here home, it doesn't mean fewer police officers, noted David Selby, of DRP's corporate communications department.
"The number of officers on the ground is the same," he said. "Where they start the day may have changed."
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