KAWARTHA LAKES-The Kawartha Lakes Police Service Community Response Unit will receive funding of $365,358 to provide mental health and addictions related outreach and enhanced crisis response. The funding will help expand the unit’s capacity to reduce the number of chronic police interactions with individuals suffering from mental health and addictions and provide a focused, strategic response to identified community safety concerns. Police will work in partnership with Ross Memorial Hospital and FourCast Addictions Services.
It is part of an investment of more than $267 million over three years to provide police services across the province with significant new resources to safeguard their local communities.
Ninety police service boards are receiving funding through the Community Safety and Policing Grant Program for 147 public safety initiatives focusing on local and provincial priorities such as gun and gang violence, sexual violence and harassment, human trafficking, mental health and addictions and hate-motivated crime. Many projects will be undertaken in collaboration with community partners.
“Community safety is a top priority, and our government has been strengthening our justice system to protect communities and hold offenders accountable,” said Solicitor General Sylvia Jones. “This investment is another way we are helping police services address local challenges and improve the well-being of the people they serve. Whether to combat the opioid crisis, share intelligence, or prevent violent crime, this funding will make a difference in all corners of Ontario.”
The $267 million investment in the Community Safety and Policing Grant Program includes:
- Approximately $225 million through the local priorities stream to help police services address priority issues such as enhanced police intelligence sharing, expanding mental health supports, preventing crime in schools, combatting bullying, sexual violence, human trafficking, cyber-crime, enhancing road safety and acquiring new technology.
- $43 million to address provincewide priorities such as training for police officers so they are better equipped to handle sexual violence and harassment investigations, identify signs of human trafficking and interact with victims of human trafficking: crime prevention initiatives for at-risk youth and other vulnerable groups and equipment purchases that support policing operations and activities such as enhanced software/technology.
Peterborough Police will receive $1,447,380 to allow officers to continue initiatives with a newly created Special Victims Unit to enhance and improve its response to human trafficking, child exploitation, elder abuse, domestic violence and sexual violence and harassment. The grant will also support collaborative multi-sector training on these issues and additional resources.