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ADVERTORIAL

Midland Police Senior Of�icers
Share Comparisons Leading Up
To Public Meeting on August 23
The Midland Police Service’s Senior Officer’s Association
is honoured to be part of this historic institution that continues to serve the people of Midland for the past 120 years. We
would like to state publicly a few of the many benefits of
continuing to have your own community Police Service.
DEDICATED SERVICE MODEL - The Midland Police
Service provides a dedicated delivery model to serve the
community. Policing only one community makes it easier
for our members to know the town residents and understand
the social issues faced by the most vulnerable segments of
our population, and ensures we are always there within a few
minutes (avg 3min 40sec) when you need us. In response to
needs identified by our residents, we work hard to build
relationships and crime prevention programs. Midland is our
sole focus with all our resources dedicated to this community. In a contract with the Province, Midland will migrate to
an “INTEGRATED” service delivery model which will see
Midland become a fifth zone of responsibility for the Southern Georgian Bay OPP detachment. Resources (officers and
equipment) are assigned and re-deployed on an as-needed
basis with no one zone getting priority over the other. There
are no guarantees that Midland will have police presence at
all times and no guaranteed response times to emergency
calls for assistance. This is an unavoidable challenge with
resources spread across a large geographical service area
where emergencies in other surrounding communities can
draw away the officers in Midland.

$130,000 / year must be added to the projected costs and is
subject to availability even with a contracted addition. The
alternative appears to be a community services officer shared
with the neighbouring communities.
DOWNTOWN FOOT PATROL - As a local service, we
have a great understanding of the social issues facing the
community and can create action strategies custom-tailored
to address crime reduction and social disorder. Inspector Ron
Wheeldon, sits on multiple committees that identify community safety needs and develop a collaborative approach to
deal with escalating risks and crime in the downtown core.
In addition, Midland Police officers provide upwards of 1500
hours of physical presence in the downtown core by walking
the streets, alleys and visiting local retailers to build relationships, meet and talk with local residents and help reduce
crime and victimization by highly visible police presence.
Engagement is the key to safer communities. If Midland
decides that they want to keep downtown foot patrols, under
the OPP billing model, that costs approximately $130,000 /
year and must be added to the projected costs and, just like a
local community services officer, is subject to availability
even with a contracted addition.
POLICE SERVICES BOARD WITH CONTROL - As a
Municipal Police Service, we are governed by what is
defined as a “Section 31” police services board. The board
has a wide range of duties and responsibilities, namely the
establishing of budgets and the control of strategic planning
for effective police service delivery. Through consultation
with the community, the board develops a “made for
Midland” business plan that determines the strategic priorities for effective community policing. The board is also
responsible for negotiations with the police associations to
help establish cost-effective wages and benefits for the members of the service. The emphasis on finances means that the
board reviews the Chief’s yearly budget on a line-by-line
basis to maximize efficiencies, adequacy and to ensure the
costs of local policing stay in line with the levels of service
identified in their strategic plan. If your Council elects to
migrate to a contract with the Province, that oversight and
ability to apply restraint and cost certainty will be lost.
Council will lose any control over costs and have no say in
the wages, benefits or increases to contract costs over time.

COMMUNITY SERVICES OFFICER - Currently we
have Cst Chris Paul attending schools and giving presentations daily during the school year. Over the summer months,
he provides station tours to day camps and adult community
programs. Chief Osborne’s goal was to have one officer
whose fundamental duties would be to build relationships
with students, school staff and both build and nurture
partnerships with community service agencies who serve our
more vulnerable residents. In addition to a dedicated community services officer, we have other officers, civilian staff and
our auxiliary officers volunteer hundreds of hours into
community programs such as Cram a Cruiser, Midland Bike
Rodeo, Kids Fishing Derby and events like the Torch Run for
Special Olympics. In a contract with the Province, a single
community services officer must be shared with Tiny Twp,
Tay Twp, Penetanguishene and part of Georgian Bay Township. If Midland decides that they want a dedicated commu- POTENTIAL FOR $8 MILLION DOLLARS IN
nity services officer, that cost, an approximate increase of SAVINGS OVER 10 YEARS - We welcomed the analysis

and comparison of an “integrated” police model against our
“standalone” model and, like the Chief, we were confident
that we deliver excellent value, efficiency and effectiveness
for every hard-earned tax dollar. When the OPP quote
came in higher than Midland Police, we reviewed the quote
and found it to be fair. The quote served to highlight the
efficiencies we’ve worked hard to achieve over the past
decade. The next step in the process was the comparative
analysis conducted by the CAO and the consultant, largely
based on data that they entered into a formula; results that
the OPP have yet to verify for accuracy or commit to. Chief
of Police, Michael Osborne, an advisor to the OPP Costing
Committee, published an open letter to the public and
Council outlining some concerns with the amount of
savings projected, and questions he felt required further
investigation. You can find that letter on the Midland
Police Website - www.police.midland.on.ca
We have the utmost respect for the OPP and we are peers
and partners in community safety. The issues raised are not
criticism of the OPP nor of their professionalism. The
decision to disband the local community police in favour of
a contract with the Province of Ontario has substantial
up-front costs, immediate service delivery changes as well
as a loss of budgetary control. The autonomy to direct and
control the costs of community safety is lost in a contract
with the Province. The decision to abandon control and
predictability should not be taken lightly.
Accordingly, the Town of Midland has called a public
meeting to welcome community feedback about the potential to switch policing services. The meeting is on Wednesday August 23rd at 2:00PM and again at 7:00PM and will
be hosted by the OPP Costing Committee with leaders of
MPS and OPP present at the North Simcoe Sports and
Recreation Centre.
We encourage you to take an interest in this issue, ask
questions from the hosts and speak to your Mayor and
Councillors. The decision to disband the local police
service is irreversible.
Regardless of the outcome, we will respect the decision by
those whom you have elected to govern you but welcome
the opportunity to continue to serve you for another
century. Midland Police Service. Community First!

PUBLIC MEETING - SPORTS & REC CENTRE - 527 LEN SELF
WEDNESDAY AUGUST 23rd - 2PM & 7PM - UPSTAIRS HALL