Officials on Walpole Island are looking to separate themselves from the OPP.
In an update on social media, members of Walpole Island First Nation Council say the community’s police service is working through the process of transitioning from the Ontario First Nations Policing Agreement, currently administered by the Ontario Provincial Police, to their own self-administered police service.
A number of community surveys have been conducted over the years, the first in 2008 and the most recent in 2023, all in favour of a stand-alone police detachment. Walpole Island Council also hired consulting firm MNP LLP in 2018 to conduct a policing capacity needs assessment, coming to the same conclusion.
“MNP researched First Nations policing programs and model options, engaged our community through a police model survey, and provided an analysis of First Nations policing models to Council,” the WIFN Council statement reads. “The report was released in 2019, and the results were in favour of a self-administered (stand-alone) police detachment as the preferred policing model for our community.”
Band Council says two OPP Staff Sergeants have been working to provide operational support and administrative oversight to Walpole Island’s existing policing model to assist with the transition to a stand-alone police detachment and to modernize the current policing model.
Walpole Island officials are aiming to have the process of setting up a Police Service Board within the next six months.
The Police Service Board will be appointed by the Walpole Island First Nation Council through dedicated Council meetings and trained in Police Board proceedings, insured, and initially will work with the police chief they hire to set up the detachment.
Officials say they continue to lay the groundwork for a strong, independent police service that reflects the community’s needs, values, and principles.
