The first of two Town Hall meetings for the Belleville Police Service to gather community input towards its next three-year Strategic Business Plan will be held Thursday evening in Thurlow.
Chief Mike Callaghan says they keep stats on all kinds of criminal- and traffic-related events but they want to hear residents’ community safety concerns.
“There’s no better way to get a sense of understanding of what’s actually happening than from the public themselves because we can’t be everywhere all at once. And when we have the eyes of the public and the support of the public to identify those challenges then we can put plans together to address those challenges.”
Chief Callaghan says they face challenges that some other police services don’t.
“We’re not like the bigger services in the GTA where they only police urban areas. We’re urban, suburban and rural. And all of those considerations and those differences between those three geographical areas have to be taken into consideration when we’re developing that community safety plan.”
Chief Callaghan say development of the three-year plan will begin in November with implementation in 2024.
The Ward 2 meeting starts at 6 p.m., Thursday, September 14 at the Gerry Masterson Community Centre, 516 Harmony Road, Thurlow.
The second meeting for Ward 1 residents is Tuesday, September 26 in the Joint Forces Room at Police Headquarters, 459 Sidney St. Belleville.
