Incoming North Bay Police Association President Aaron Northrup says the group he leads will be compiling a list of candidates it endorses for the upcoming municipal election.
Northrup says the membership has been meeting with mayoral and council candidates and is in the midst of putting its list of preferred candidates together for public consumption. Northrup adds the Police Association will be making advertising buys to express its position on policing issues and election hopefuls who represent the group’s stances.
Northrup says the increase in mental health service calls has been raised in meetings with candidates but the main focus of the endorsements rests with the OPP costing question that lingers in North Bay.
During this past term of city council, obtaining the cost of having the OPP take over as the police force was raised often but eventually put to rest. There is no guarantee that the issue will not be raised with a new council.
Northrup says municipal policing and detachment policing (such as the OPP) are two very different animals. He says NBPS officers live and work in the community, are our neighbours and our coaches. In short, he says it is “a different level of service,” when comparing the two and the Police Association has no trouble voicing its collective opinion on the subject.
