The Belleville Police Service prides itself on being a progressive police force and thanks to some provincial funding, they can continue to move the service forward.
Bay of Quinte MPP Todd Smith announced on Tuesday morning, the BPS will receive $614,470 through the Community Safety and Policing Grant. The BPS will also receive an additional $200,000 in funding through the Victim Support Grant.
“The first one is $343,600 to support frontline community stakeholder training, and then there is $271,8oo that’s going to support the hiring of a victim liaison officer in the area. Belleville will be receiving $200,000 for survivor-centred services.”
The Community Safety and Policing Grant will support the implementation of public safety and community policing initiatives that focus on community outreach programs, human trafficking and guns and gang violence.
Police Chief Mike Callaghan says this will allow them to be more victim-focused, something they’ve wanted to be for a number of years.
“This is a game changer in our community because we have wanted to be victim-focused in our investigations from the very start of the investigation, to the very end of the investigation and some follow-up and because of resourcing, we just have not been able to do that. So we feel that we are going to be able to make a significant, tangible difference in the community with our victims.”
Chief Callaghan echoed Belleville Mayor Mitch Panciuk in saying every crime has a victim and it is important to support the victim.
Chief Callaghan stressed the importance of this funding in their sexual assault or human trafficking investigations.
“The kinds of investigations that we really need to be there to support the victim because of the horrific situation that they have been personally violated and then the court proceedings, and everything that follows it. They really need that support and this is where we’re going to be able to be in a position to inject that support so we’ve got them from the very beginning to the very end.”
MPP Smith also announced the province is providing $1.68 million in base funding to extend and expand the Addictions and Mental Health Services Hastings Prince Edward IMPACT (Integrated Mobile Police and Co-Response Team) Program.
This program started as a partnership with the BPS and Quinte West OPP and addictions and mental health staff to provide immediate support to individuals and families involved in police-related calls.
Chief Callaghan says the program has been in place since the fall, and says this program has made a significant difference, exponentially better than what they expected.
“And this grant has put us in a position where we have the resources that they are not police officers, but they are mental health care support mechanisms to work with individuals who have mental health and addictions and assist our officers on a day-to-day basis in dealing with those individuals and providing them with the support and the help and the long-term follow-up that they need to ensure that they are progressing well.”
Quinte West OPP were other lucky recipients of the Community Safety and Policing Grant. MPP Smith announced Quint West will receive $245,179 from the provincial fund.
An $182,679 grant will go towards supporting the enhancement of community resources, providing further mental health officers and staff, and reducing unnecessary police interactions.
(19/04/2022 – Quinte West OPP will build on existing partnerships with St. Leonard’s Intersectional Program, Victim Assistance, and Addictions and Mental Health Service Hastings-Prince Edward.)
Photo by: Andrew Clarke / Quinte News
A $62,500 grant will support a two-day wellness expo in May, to promote awareness on existing mental health and addiction services in the region. A pop-up mobile community resource unit will be available from June to September to provide programming for vulnerable individuals in the area and mental health awareness.
Quinte West OPP, Inspector Christina Reive says the addition of victim liaison officers through the program has made police interactions better for everyone involved.
“We’ve been taking them to us for calls of service when we know it’s safe to do so, and they interact with the people who are in crisis and take over that role of caretaker and assistant for the police officer. They’re better equipped, have better training and they allow us to do our job of public safety, while they do their job in dealing with a mental health crisis.”
This province-wide funding for the Community Safety and Policing Grant and the Victim Support Grant are part of a $267.6 million investment over three years.
