Kenora OPP to get more officers

More officers for the Kenora Detachment of the OPP.

Inspector Jeff Duggan says according to provincial guidelines, Kenora needs 24 more officers to meet local demands.

The provincial standard includes the number of Calls for Service, Community Engagement, Proactive Patrol, and Administrative Requirements.

Right now, frontline Kenora OPP officers spend 52 percent of their time on Calls for Service, while the provincial standard is just 40 percent.

The other area where Kenora does not meet the provincial standard is Proactive Patrol. Local officers spend just 8.59 percent of their time on patrol, with the provincial standard at 21 percent.

“This model tells us that Kenora needs an additional 24 officers. So, this is something that we’ve been approved to move on and hire the extra 24 officers for the Kenora Detachment,” Duggan told Kenora City Council at its Committee of the Whole meeting Tuesday morning.

Duggan adds the OPP have hired recruitment experts to help out.

“The northwest region has hired or is the process of hiring two full-time recruiters just for Kenora. So, there will be four in total…two in Thunder Bay, and there will be two in Kenora. They will be responsible for hiring in the northwest, but they will be in Kenora, so we’ll have a lot of influence on where they’ll go.”

Duggan adds that they are no vacancies at the Kenora Detachment right now, so the extra officers are in addition to the ones they already have on staff.