Leamington opting out of OPP pact

By Mark Ribble

LEAMINGTON — After 10 years of police service provided by the Ontario Provincial Police, Leamington is looking at other options.

At the Leamington council meeting on Tuesday, June 9, council voted to terminate the contract they have with the OPP.

Having signed a three-year extension in December 2019, the municipality must give the obligatory one-year notice to terminate. This would cause the current contract to expire on May 26, 2021.

The decision in 2010 to switch to the OPP from the previous Leamington Police Service, was a contentious one at the time.

Current Leamington Mayor, Hilda MacDonald, was a councillor then, and voted against the change. The OPP took over policing in Leamington in December, 2010.

In recent years, it was apparent that current council was not happy with the level of service from the OPP, citing a lack of officers on the streets of Leamington as one of their concerns.

Mayor MacDonald reached out to the OPP and voiced her concerns.

“We have no issue with the officers on the street in Leamington,” she said. “We’ve simply asked for more, and been told no.”

MacDonald’s frustration was clear in her voice as she talked about the level of service provided currently by the OPP.

“We have tried to get some accountability,” she said. “Things like how many officers are we paying for.”

So far, she says, OPP upper management has not responded to requests for such numbers.

The cost of the OPP currently is $5.4 million for 2020, which makes up 18 per cent of Leamington’s tax levy.

When asked about the uptick in petty crime throughout the municipality in recent months, MacDonald doesn’t blame the OPP, but says, in the past, there would have been an increase in police service to nip the problem in the bud.

“Leamington Police would have increased their presence in the community whenever necessary to combat crime,” she said. “When the OPP first took over, they were good at that too.”

Then around 2014, she says the model seemed to change. MacDonald heard from the community through phone calls and a recent public input survey and says she feels the community wants a change. Now the search begins in earnest for a replacement. Neighbouring police forces that may be interested include Windsor, LaSalle and Chatham-Kent.

A Request for Proposal (RFP) will be put out in July to ask for applications to take over policing in Leamington. Mayor MacDonald says that the OPP are welcome to apply, but will need to change their model of service.

If they get no response from other police services, they will remain with OPP until they can build a new Leamington police force, which is a large undertaking.

“It is a possibility, but not something we can put together in one year,” she said. “It would probably be the most expensive of the options.”

MacDonald stresses that the decision made last Tuesday was not about dollars.

“This is all about service,” she said. “We have a responsibility to the taxpayers to see if we can do better.”