New OPP Detachment Board North Launches April 1st
Starting April 1st, there will be a new way the OPP boards in the area will operate when the new Community Safety and Policing Act 2019 comes into effect.
Police service boards under the former Police Services Act will be discontinued in favour of new detachment boards for municipalities policed by the OPP. Locally, the police service boards of the Town of Essex, Town of Tecumseh, and Municipality of Lakeshore will be dissolved as of March 31st, 2024, through a by-law and replaced by a single entity, Essex Detachment Board – North, starting April 1st.
Each municipality must appoint a Council representative, a community representative, and an agreed-upon “at-large” representative. Two representatives will also be appointed by the Province of Ontario.
Board members appointed to date are as follows:
- Lakeshore Mayor Tracey Bailey
- Lakeshore Community Representative Julie Johnston
- Essex Mayor Sherry Bondy
- Essex Community Representative Dave Kigar
- Tecumseh Mayor Gary McNamara
- Tecumseh Community Representative Paul Sweet
For the balance of this term of municipal office, the at-large representative will be rotated between the three municipalities, starting with Tecumseh. Tecumseh Council appointed former PSB Chair Chris Hales, who will serve out the balance of 2024 once Essex and Lakeshore confirm his appointment. For 2025, Lakeshore will make the appointment, and in 2026, Essex will make the appointment, subject to agreement by all three municipalities.
The new Detachment Board is expected to get underway with their first meeting in April, 2024. For the time being, the new board meetings will be held in Tecumseh and livestreamed for public access. The agenda will be published a week in advance of the meeting and posted to each municipal website.
