The changing face of policing in Huntsville and Lake of Bays

It’s been ten years since the Huntsville Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police has had a Community Safety Officer.

“There has been kind of a cry for this role to return,” explained Huntsville OPP Detachment Commander John-Paul Graham.

The position has been filled by Officer Ted Warman, who said he sees his role as one of building bridges with different community sectors, particularly youth.

He will be present at the policing community room across from the pool at the Canada Summit Centre. He hopes to make it an inviting space with an open-door policy for anyone who wants to talk or ask questions.

Graham said through consultation, a strategic plan that will guide police services for the Huntsville and Lake of Bays area for the next few years identified community well-being and youth mental health and addiction issues as priorities. That means fostering strong relationships between youth and police, breaking down barriers. “So for me to say that we’re going to do something—we need to put our words in action,” said Graham, adding that the Community Safety Officer position is a step in that direction.

Graham said the Huntsville Detachment has had significant officer turnover and has been focused on filling vacancies. It is made up of 40 officers, and about 25 per cent of them are new and still on probation, “which has its own set of challenges.” He said the officers are very committed to the community as they have moved here and brought their families with them. “They are full of vibrancy and certainly are trying to balance what’s the proactive and the reactive response, but we really want to see our windows down. We want to be able to say, ‘How’s Joe doing? How’s Samantha doing?’… I want that community engagement back and I want it to kind of grow,” he said.”Our officers are [in]one of the busier detachments in Central region based on call volume per officer.”

Graham said the GTA also heavily influences this area. “You know, we can’t be naive to think that there’s not human trafficking happening here, [and]a number of drugs being transported through this area, through Hwy 11, Hwy 60 as a corridor from both North and South and East.” He said collaboration with neighbouring detachments is key to trying to minimize criminal activities.

In terms of other challenges the Huntsville and Lake of Bays communities face, Graham said mental health issues, intimate partner violence, property crime and substance abuse, and impairment on the roads are persistent problems. He said violent crimes have also increased since COVID.

“I just think that people have less patience and are not as kind anymore. I think being isolated and going through the pandemic has eroded some of that connection between people, so I think we just need to bring that back. We need to work on reducing maybe the amount of hate that people project,” he said.

Hate crimes, particularly as the area becomes more diverse, are also issues of concern. He said Huntsville is changing, and the police services have to change with it by ensuring officers better reflect their community. Warman also said he hopes to open the lines of communication with community organizations that help victims.

Graham said the detachment is focusing on policing with empathy and compassion and connecting people to services as part of law enforcement. The new police services board will also help enhance communication between police services and community representatives. “My intent, like I always do, is to be genuine, to be honest, to be fair in speaking about what we do. I think that we have a lot of great officers who do a lot of great work, and there are more things that we can do to be able to service the community because, again, the community is changing, and we have to change with the community.”

Graham, one of the longest-serving detachment commanders in Huntsville and the Central Region of the OPP, said he loves this community; it is welcoming, its members are invested in one another, and it is a great place to raise a family. “We need to keep on advancing. We need to keep on working with people to make things better,” he said.

Warman said he looks forward to building relationships and closing gaps in his role as Community Safety Officer. He said in the last few weeks alone, he’s learned a lot more about services the community offers that he did not know existed, and he’s already been working with youth in the community who refer to him by first name, “and that’s what I want. That’s what I want to see, that as they grow up, there is a face to a name; it’s not just the uniform; there’s a person there as well that they can trust, they can talk to, that they’re comfortable with.” He said he’s met some of the kids on calls for service at their homes in stressful situations, and knowing and trusting one another has helped.

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