Safer Communities - 1,000 Officers Partnership Program Near Target As More Police Recruits Complete Training
McGuinty Government On The Side Of Ontario Families Concerned About Crime And Safety
AYLMER, ON, Nov. 30 /CNW/ - Ontario will be stronger and safer as an additional 168 police officers hired under the Safer Communities - 1,000 Officers Partnership program complete their training at the Ontario Police College, Community Safety and Correctional Services Minister Monte Kwinter said today.
"The McGuinty government is on the side of Ontario families concerned about crime and safety," Kwinter said. "Our government's Safer Communities - 1,000 Officers Partnership program is almost fully implemented. With the
officers who have completed their training today, 970 additional new police officers are now, or will soon be, patrolling our streets."
Kwinter made the remarks today at the March Past and review ceremony of the 478 candidates who just completed their training at the college, of which 168 were hired under the McGuinty government's Safer Communities - 1,000 Officers Partnership program.
The program fulfills the McGuinty government's commitment to help municipalities hire 1,000 new police officers before the end of its first mandate. So far, 802 are on duty across the province and will soon be joined by the 168 new officers who completed their training today. When this occurs, 97 per cent of the new 1,000 officers will be on the job and protecting Ontarians. At the request of municipalities, the 30 remaining officers will start their training early in 2007.
The program is nearing full implementation almost a year ahead of schedule. In January 2006, Premier Dalton McGuinty announced a $51-million package to combat guns and gangs that included $14 million to accelerate the implementation of the Safer Communities - 1,000 Officers Partnership program across the province.
Half of the new officers hired under the program are assigned to community policing duties such as street patrols, improved traffic enforcement and school visits. The other 500 officers are assigned to priority areas identified by the government in its fight against crime in Ontario:
- Guns and gangs
- Youth crime
- Organized crime and marijuana grow operations
- Dangerous offenders
- Domestic violence
- Protecting children from Internet luring and child pornography.
With more than $37 million in annual funding for the Safer Communities - 1,000 Officers Partnership program and continued support for the Community Policing Partnership program, the McGuinty government now invests $68 million every year, and in perpetuity, to help municipalities employ more than 2,000 police officers.
"Our government has delivered on its commitment," said Kwinter. "As a result, our province is safer and we will continue to give police the resources they need to do their job and make Ontario more secure and prosperous."
The crime rate in Ontario decreased by 4.5 per cent in 2005, the third year in a row that Ontario had the lowest crime rate of all the provinces.
