At tonight’s police costing meeting in Wingham the Reeve made it abundantly clear that the Wingham police are not wanted in Blyth or East-Wawanosh, as there is absolutely “no appetite” for them. Expansion seems to be a dead issue since they don’t want their policing costs to double. If Bltyh and E-W Councillors don’t want the Wingham police in their ward, they should vote them out of Wingham as well, anything else would be hypocritical.
If the Wingham Police amalgamate with the OPP they will get to stay in Wingham if they desire. To be clear, the officers you all love/hate get to stay in Wingham. They will also have new and unprecedented career advancement opportunities, access to drones with thermal imaging to find lost persons in corn fields, helicopters, atvs, watercraft, ALPR, ample backup, and constables get $98,000/year!
So, you are probably wondering what our Wingham Police officers think about being upgraded and having all the tech needed to keep themselves and our Community safer. This question was posed to Chief Poole several times, what do the officers think? Tim Poole doesn’t really care since he is retiring next year, and Foxton will become chief as per the Old Boys Club deal.
It seems to be a no-brainer that Wingham officers would want to become OPP, especially if they truly care about protecting our Community and want an actual career in policing. They get more money, more benefits, more backup, more tech.
The only reason a Wingham officer wouldn’t want to switch to the OPP would be that they don’t meet their standards, or are not in good standing. If they don’t meet the OPP’s standards, then why would we want them roaming our Community with loaded firearms?
The Reeve did state he believed council would honor the results of a public vote regarding Wingham policing.