WHEREAS policing services within the United Counties of Prescott and Russell (UCPR) are provided by the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), which delivers services guided by consistent provincial standards across all municipalities; and
WHEREAS administering OPP services at the upper-tier level can provide cost-planning efficiencies by centralizing oversight, coordinating county-wide budgeting, and distributing costs more fairly across all communities that receive the same provincially delivered policing model; and
WHEREAS the OPP provides province-wide professional policing standards, including access to specialized units (such as canine, tactical, emergency response, and forensic services) and modern policing infrastructure, benefiting all municipalities regardless of size or capacity; and
WHEREAS consistent policing procedures and provincial training standards support a uniform experience for all residents across the region and contribute to uniform law enforcement expectations across municipal boundaries; and
WHEREAS the OPP’s scalable and flexible service model allows resources to be adjusted based on workload, local needs, seasonal fluctuations, or emergency situations—an advantage not easily achievable through independent municipal police services; and
WHEREAS centralized oversight of policing services at the upper-tier level reduces administrative duplication, aligns governance across the county, and may allow the consolidation of OPP detachment boards in accordance with the Community Safety and Policing Act (CSPA); and
WHEREAS additional efficiencies may be achieved by planning OPP infrastructure (such as satellite offices or detachment resources) from a county-wide perspective rather than responding to the needs of individual municipalities in isolation; and
WHEREAS policing is, in practice, a regionally oriented service similar to Paramedic Services, which are already administered at the county level; and
WHEREAS several Ontario jurisdictions—including (but not limited to) Haldimand County, Norfolk County, Lanark County, Renfrew County, the District Municipality of Muskoka, and the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry—operate under regional or single-tier OPP service delivery models that demonstrate efficiencies and equitable access to policing resources; and
WHEREAS all residents of Prescott and Russell benefit from the same provincial OPP service model and should therefore contribute equitably to its cost through a uniform, county-administered approach;
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Council of the City of Clarence-Rockland formally supports the concept of administering OPP services at the upper-tier (County) level to ensure equitable cost-sharing for all residents and improved operational efficiency across the region; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT Council requests that the United Counties of Prescott and Russell study and consider the implementation of a county-level OPP service delivery and governance model—including analysis of billing implications, required approvals under the Community Safety and Policing Act, consolidation of detachment boards where feasible, and county-wide planning of policing infrastructure; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT this resolution be forwarded to the Council of the United Counties of Prescott and Russell, all local municipalities within the UCPR, and the Ministry of the Solicitor General.