KAWARTHA LAKES-Taxpayers in the City of Kawartha Lakes could be on the hook for the over $440,000 a year it costs to provide policing at the Central East Correctional Centre in Lindsay. There are currently three officers stationed at the jail.
“If this decision were to go through that’s what will happen here those costs for policing in that provincial institution will fall on the municipal tax base, which doesn’t seem appropriate.” Kawartha Lakes Police Chief Mark Mitchell told the Police Services Board on Monday.
Chief Mitchell says they were notified of the Province’s decision to decomission the “Police Liason Program” in September and there was no consultation from the government beforehand. The program reimbursed CKL for the costs of policing the provincial institution.
Police Services Board Chair Don Thomas pointed out that very few of those housed at the institution are actually from Kawartha Lakes.
“As you will see there’s 5 to 7 percent of that population that has a Kawartha Lakes address and any one time but we may be on the hook for 100% of the policing costs.” Thomas says.
Mitchell says he is working to get the decision reversed.
“My focus at this time is we have had alot of correspondance the the Ontario Association of Police Chiefs as well as other Chiefs who are also affected by this decision.” Mitchell states. “We’ve sent out own letter to the Solicitor General to ask for more information on this decision. My focus at this point is to continue on that path to try and get the decision reversed.”
“There’s 8 Coroners Inquests over there at various stages and those are fairly labour intensive and well as all the criminal offences that happen there, those are all the things we are legislated to investigate.”
The Institutional Investigations Unit investigates a wide array of incidents within the jail and connected to the CECC. In 2018, the Investigations Unit handled 1234 occurrences and 109 incidents where criminal charges were laid. So far in 2019, the Unit has investigated 953 occurrences, 64 of which have resulted in criminal charges.
Mayor Andy Letham says the City will assist police an any way they can in order to get the decision reversed.
More to come….
