Owen Sound and West Grey are considering joining forces in a policing partnership.
Owen Sound Council unanimously approved a resolution this week to start talks with West Grey to look at the feasibility benefits and structure of a joint municipal police service.
Mayor Ian Boddy explained they've also reached out to the other municipal police forces in Grey-Bruce.
"Saugeen Shores has their own, they are not interested in having a discussion. Hanover has been interested, and has been involved in the discussions. They've got other things in their plate right now, but we hope they'll be interested as we move forward, if we move forward, but they are unable to, at this very moment," Boddy explained. "I will note that it used to be that you had to have abutting or adjoining Municipalities, but you don't have to any more."
The idea is to pool resources to share expertise and provide more effective coverage without sacrificing the presence of a local force. West Grey Council recently approved a similar resolution.
The resolution from Boddy explained that joint municipal police services can lead to cost savings through shared resources, reduced administrative overhead, and bulk purchasing. He also noted the consolidation of police services can provide access to specialized units and advanced technology that may not be feasible for individual municipalities to sustain independently.
Councillor Travis Dodd said it's a good step moving forward.
"When we're talking about any kind of cooperation with anything, I think it's really going to come down to that report, that secondary report that comes back saying, what are the true benefits, both from the cost analysis and the safety analysis to the community, before we're implementing it on anything, obviously. So I have no problem moving forward to getting more information to see if there is savings financially," he added.
"Our Police Service Board oversees a lot of different areas underneath their service belt. You know, they're doing dispatching, other things, record checking, and I think we just want to make sure that level of services is still there for our residents," Dodd continued. "And you know, it doesn't cause a great increase, further increase to our police budgets."
Boddy stated that joint municipal police services can enhance the ability to respond to emergencies and large-scale incidents through combined personnel and equipment.
The City Manager will now initiate discussions with representatives from the Municipality of West Grey, the West Grey Police Services Board, and the Owen Sound Police Services Board to evaluate the feasibility, benefits, and potential structure of a joint municipal police service.