The Ottawa Police Service is changing the way it deploys front-line officers across the city.
The new Frontline Deployment Model will be launched on Monday, bringing 800 front-line officers under one unit.
Supt. Mark Ford tells The Newsfeed with Kristy Cameron that instead of spreading out frontline resources across three directorates, officers will now be under one umbrella unit.
The patrol and neighbourhood officers will be pooled in one big platoon and deployed across the city. Ottawa Police will deploy 150 officers in specialized support roles, including community officers, school resource officers and traffic enforcement.
“It’s very much about how we organize ourselves internally,” Ford said Sunday morning. The goal, Ford says, is for Ottawa Police to deliver its service more “effectively and efficiently.”
Ottawa Police say the new Frontline Deployment Model will allow police to respond to changing demands for service, increase proactive policing opportunities to address emerging crime trends and “ultimately enhance public and officer safety.”
Ford says the new model will allow police to have a “greater number of resources that share the responsibility of .. responding to calls for service.”
Ford says there are several reasons for the changes, including tackling budget pressures and helping stretched patrol officers. He adds this will ensure officers are deployed “effectively and efficiently into communities.”
The final public consultation on the new Ottawa Police Service Frontline Deployment Model will be held Wednesday night at Ottawa City Hall.
More information on the new Ottawa Police Frontline Deployment Model is available on the Ottawa Police website.