CASE STUDY

BRIEF

Provide community-driven insight to inform the PEC Police Services Board Strategic Plan for 2021-2024.

ACTION

This was a very energizing project – performed in great collaboration with the County of Prince Edward, The PEC Police Services Board and The Prince Edward Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police.

Integrating the opinions, perspectives and experiences of the general public (youth/young adults/ older residents) key stakeholders (Paramedic Services, Probation & Parole, Alternatives for Women, The ROC, Sandbanks Provincial Park, PELA Social Services, Bayfield Treatment Centre, All Welcome Here), and local BIAs and Chambers of Commerce, this project generated updated, statistically reliable public opinion data  on policing issues and ratings of OPP service delivery in the region.  Our methodology included a mix of qualitative and quantitative investigation.

RESULTS

This research-heavy methodology produced:

• A report card detailing how the people served by the OPP rate that service;
• A gauge of public concern about crime and policing issues;
• An indicator for making improvements to police services; and,
• A means to measure how detachment residents view the OPP’s service delivery.

The final strategic plan, reviewed and adopted in whole by the PEC Police Services Board, addressed the needs and concerns brought forth in these consultations: visibility on the highway, greater participation in the community, valuing diversity & inclusion, supporting victims of violence & managing violent crime, and, importantly, the acquisition of specialized mental health staff for emergency response.

Further, informed by this report, and with the support and involvement of the municipality, the PEC OPP Detachment and the PEC Police Services Board, the region became a leader in developing and implementing one of the first Community Safety and Well-being Plans in the province of Ontario.