Sarnia’s auxiliary officers could be trained and helping out at community events, with front-line policing and doing things like impaired driving checkpoints by May, the city service’s deputy chief says.
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Training starts in January on use of force, criminal code, traffic act and other aspects of regular officer training, just less in depth for the volunteers who don’t carry firearms but have the same authority as regular police when directly supervised by police, said Julie Craddock.
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“We’re excited to have them,” she said about the six applicants who recently cleared police vetting, including physical testing, interviews and background checks.
“We have what we believe to be a really good training plan in place for them to make sure that they have the skills they need to be able to fulfill those auxiliary policing duties.”
The auxiliary unit that’s a first in Sarnia was part of a 2022 police plan to increase aspects of the service and that also included increasing mental health supports and coordination with social service agencies.
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The idea was to have 10 auxiliary officers to startbut a few dropped out for other opportunities, including one who was hired as a police officer with another department, Craddock said.
A graduation ceremony for the recruits that recently received their uniforms and equipment—they carry things like handcuffs and batons, but not stun weapons or firearms—is expected in April, she said, noting one will be the unit’s sergeant.
Hopes had been to have an auxiliary unit in place by the fall, but there were delays linked provincial rules for more frequent intakes at the Ontario Police College—”we had to have officers hired and do their pre-Ontario Police College training in a different timeline than what we were used to,” Craddock said—and taking time to get the process right, she said.
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“We had to make sure we have the right candidates.”
The people who’ve been offered spots on the auxiliary are “really great,” she said, adding “the people who come in to volunteer in a policing organization are there for the right reasons (and) share that commitment to public safety that we all have.”
While Sarnia’s service can accommodate up to 20 auxiliary officers, plans are to see how it goes with six first, she said.
Hopes are to get feedback and make adjustments before looking to expand, she said, but said recruitment could happen again as early as next fall for another potential January training start in 2025.
Police chief Derek Davis recently noted the service laid about 110 impaired driving charges through a little more than 11 months in 2023.
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While the number is fairly steady compared to previous yearsit could be higher, he said.
That’s because the more time police dedicate to things like Reduce Impaired Driving Everywhere (RIDE) checkpoints, the more that number tends to increase, and there hasn’t been as much of an opportunity with other calls taking priority, he said.
“When officers are being deployed to emergency response, the thing that generally falls off is that proactive police work,” Craddock said, noting that includes things like traffic enforcement and road safety.
The former Halton Regional Police Service inspector says helping out with RIDE checkpoints has been a major focus for other auxiliaries she’s worked with.
Currently RIDE programs require five officers to run in Sarnia, she said.
That commitment though drops to two if three auxiliary officers can step in, she said.
“They’re always under the supervision of an officer, but it just gives you more capacity when you have more people,” she said.
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