Belleville Police Board briefs – September 19/19

Belleville’s police chief says the service and the city are becoming an increasingly attractive destination for potential new recruits.

Chief Ron Gignac told the police services board on Thursday that while other services tend to struggle with recruiting, the BPS has had a steady stream of highly qualified applicants recently.

The Chief says the reputation of both the police service and the city go a long way.

Chief Gignac says they are only halfway through the recruiting season and he’ll be giving a full update at the police board’s November meting.

Environmental stewardship is top of mind for the Belleville Police Service, as construction continues on the new headquarters at the corner of College and Sidney streets.

The police force is taking on a number of environmental initiatives including using refurbished and recycled furniture, along with other engineering features within the updated building.

Chief Ron Gignac says they are also moving away from having to exchange paper documents with officials at the Quinte Courthouse.

The new BPS headquarters is expected to be ready for move-in by early 2020.

Members of the Belleville Police Service were surprised by a special guest at the recent Cops and Kids Fishing Derby.

Chief Ron Gignac told the police services board on Thursday that a young girl, who was involved in a serious medical incident a few months back, came by the event to see officers and thank them for their help.

She had been accidentally exposed to the dangerously potent drug Carfentanyl and when police and paramedics arrived was unresponsive.

Gignac says the girl’s rescue is a testament to the strength of partnerships between the police service, other emergency responders and staff at area hospitals, when it comes to dealing with life-saving situations.

He also added that meetings like that show the importance of those extracurricular police activities, where officers can continue to forge strong connections with members of the community.

The Belleville Police Services Board has approved the hiring of another temporary supplemental officer, with no impact on the budget.

Chief Ron Gignac told the board on Thursday that three more officers are off on extended medical leave, with no timetable for return, bringing the total within the police force to eight.

Gignac says the police force will hire a temporary officer in December 2019, who will likely join the ranks on a full-time basis through attrition, should an officer who is on leave not return to work.

He adds that hiring a temproary officer can also take some strain off staff who are on leave, so they can focus on their recovery and not worry about what’s happening at work.

Belleville’s police chief says a car chase that took his officers across city boundaries this week wouldn’t have ended the way it did, if not for recent upgrades to some of the police force’s cruisers.

City officers and Quinte West OPP ended up pinning a car against a fence near CFB Trenton, after it sped along Highway 2, in an attempt to get away.

Chief Ron Gignac says the cruiser upgrades, which were requested in 2017, definitely made a difference.

Gignac also credited the communication between officers involved and their awareness of their surroundings to bring the situation to a safe conclusion.