2022 has been a challenging year for many communities across Ontario, and Chatham-Kent’s Police Chief says no community has been left unscathed.
Chief Gary Conn says from large scale demonstrations to the ongoing opioid crisis, front line officers have been busy trying to keep the community safe.
Conn says recruitment and retention efforts and social inequities are also issues that will carry into the new year.
“I’m talking about the traditional, historical ones being mental health, addictions, poverty, homelessness, affordable housing, all of those, they were well in existence before the pandemic, but we saw that the pandemic exponentially magnified the cracks within our chronically underfunded social infrastructure.”
On the positive side, Conn cites ratification of collective agreements for both junior and senior officers this year. Specifically, the Chief says there is a greater focus on maintaining and increasing the mental wellbeing of officers.
“We must continue to develop and promote initiatives to support both the physical and psychological wellbeing of our members. The constant 24/7, 365 days a year nature of policing involves addressing those tolls and stresses of our profession, which entails both physical and cognitive-related injuries.”
Looking ahead, Conn says 2023 will include some big projects for front-line officers.
“We will be hopefully rolling out our body-worn camera pilot project, we’ll start with a pilot project and that will eventually roll-out to all front-line officers, as well as automated license plate readers into all of our front-line cruisers. The other thing we’re going to continue to work towards is the challenges surrounding recruitment and retention.”
Conn says policing is in desperate need of a re-brand, including removal of systemic barriers and requirements when it comes to post-secondary education for new hires.
Conn says the provincial government is working on a revamped Police Services Act, which he calls a monumental change in the profession, expected to be rolled out in late 2023 or early 2024.