Local police rely on their auxiliary unit to help engage with and support the community.
That was the message from South Simcoe Police Service (SSPS) Deputy Chief Sheryl Sutton, who presented the service’s annual report on the auxiliary unit for 2024, as part of the police services board meeting at the South Division station in Bradford on Feb. 12.
“Without our auxiliaries, we would not be able to do the community engagement piece. The parades and special events — so many of those are facilitated or augmented by our auxiliary unit,” Sutton said.
She praised the volunteers who “just really want to give back to our communities,” and explained some of those events could require as many as 20 auxiliaries, which would be too many front-line officers to pull from other duties.
As a result, the report notes the unit was “very busy” throughout 2024 with various events and details, especially as the deputy chief noted they were down 10 officers for the “vast majority of the year.”
“Without the auxiliaries, it would be very, very difficult to function,” board chair Chris Gariepy said.
The unit provided a total of about 3,000 hours of service spread across events in Bradford and Innisfil, which is a decrease from 3,650 hours in 2023.
Some shifts in how those hours were spent included:
- Meeting/training decreased to 592 from 754
- Ride along/Reduce Impaired Driving Everywhere (RIDE) increased to 773.7 from 732.5
- Community engagement decreased to 603.75 from 1,015.5
- Parades/festivals increased to 405.6 from 281.5
- Station details and admin work decreased to 609.5 from 822
While authorized to have 30 members, the unit started 2024 with 20 active members. And during the year, three members resigned to take careers in policing.
While one joined the OPP as a dispatcher, two joined SSPS as front-line officers. Another member remained with the unit, but was also hired on contract for the Crown brief unit.
In November, 11 new auxiliary constables joined the unit, bringing the serving number to 28, but already one of those is set to join the service as a front-line officer — a situation which is “always a win” for the service according to Sutton.
“They seem to fit in very well,” she said. “They know our culture.”
Two members were also promoted to auxiliary sergeant, bringing the command team to full strength with one auxiliary staff sergeant, one sergeant each for the north and south platoons, and one administrative sergeant.
In addition to their efforts in the first half of the year, the auxiliary unit also helped with large crowds at multi-day events including including Carrot Fest in Bradford West Gwillimbury, and Onion Fest in Innisfil, participated in the annual Run to Remember and Ride to Remember in September, and the new recruits came on board just in time for the Christmas parades in both Bradford and Innisfil.
At the Innisfil parade, new Auxiliary Const. Balpreet Badial even helped save the life of a choking four-year-old child.
Started in 1997, the SSPS auxiliary unit is staffed by citizens who volunteer to assist the service with community events by performing duties such as crowd control, traffic control and public relations.
A member of the service, Sgt. Jason Vandersar, acts as a liaison for the unit under the direction of the police chief.