Amherstburg considering regional police force

Costing proposals from Windsor expected for Amherstburg and LaSalle

Chris Jackman

Staff Writer

The town of Amherstburg is considering merging police forces with Windsor or integrating with the Ontario Provincial Police to reduce costs.

Amherstburg mayor Aldo DiCarlo said there are three different policing models for the town to consider. Currently, the town uses a municipal policing model, but according to DiCarlo is looking at both regional and provincial policing models to save money. The regional option the town is considering would mean merging police forces with Windsor and possibly LaSalle.

According to Sgt. Matt D’Asti, public information officer at the Windsor Police Service, the city of Windsor and the WPS are planning to present a proposal to Amherstburg which would outline the costs associated with merging their police force with Amherstburg’s. DiCarlo said once they receive that information from Windsor, Amherstburg’s council will be able to meet to discuss the town’s options.

The mayors of Windsor, Amherstburg and LaSalle have talked about it, according to D’Asti, though he added it was “strictly dialogue at this point.” He said the Windsor police viewed the situation as an opportunity.

“We have an Emergency Services Unit, a K-9 unit, a drugs unit and everything else so we have the specialized services that those municipal police services need, and we’re able to provide them,” said D’Asti.

The regional police model for Amherstburg would also have to include LaSalle, according to the Ontario Police Services Act. It states that if two or more municipalities want to have a regional police force, they have to be connected by shared borders.

LaSalle Mayor Ken Antaya also expects to receive a proposal from Windsor that would outline the potential costs associated with regionalizing the forces of all three municipalities, but said it wouldn’t likely be a good choice for LaSalle financially. DiCarlo said if Lassalle doesn’t agree to merge forces, the regional plan would become more complicated.

“Without LaSalle it’s not as simple as Windsor saying they’re going to provide services for Amherstburg,” DiCarlo said. “It’s my understanding that legally you would actually have to dissolve both police forces and create a new one.”

Amherstburg is also looking into the provincial option, which DiCarlo said is more common for smaller municipalities. It would mean the Amherstburg Police Service would become a detachment of the OPP, and would be run by the province. According to DiCarlo, the OPP has recently come up with a new model for municipalities that could save the town “probably somewhere between one or two million dollars a year.”

D’Asti said while talks may move forward, for the time being the City of Windsor and the WPS are putting together the proposal for Amherstburg, and will see where things go from there. DiCarlo said they’re just waiting for offers from both Windsor and the OPP, but expects it will be a few months before that happens.

“Once we get those offers we’ll be in a position to sit down as a council, compare costs, service levels, anything and everything related to policing,” DiCarlo said.