By Rick Pusiak
Almost 500 police service board members from across Ontario are about to converge on Sudbury for the 40th annual general meeting of the Ontario Association of Police Services Boards (OAPSB).
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The four-day session is scheduled to start Thursday at the Howard Johnson Plaza Hotel, formerly the Sheraton Caswell. Andy Humber, chair of the local police services board, figures the event will pump at least $1 million into the local economy. Rooms had to be booked in four Sudbury hotels to accommodate all the out-of-town guests.
Â?ItÂ?s a chance for all of us who are involved with civilian oversight, police service boards, to exchange information and keep updated on whatÂ?s happening in the policing community,Â? said Humber.
Police services board members are either citizens at large, provincial appointees or members of a town or city council.
They are responsible for setting the police service budget, contract negotiations with sworn officers and civilian bargaining units, and selecting a police chief.
The Sudbury police board is in fact scheduled to hold what are called adequacy-based interviews in a couple of weeks to pick the person who will replace Alex McCauley. An announcement could come before the end of May.
Humber, meanwhile, said the Sudbury conference will include a training session for new board members put on by the office of the Solicitor General. There will be a lecture on new police regulations and how to plan for an expected human resource shortfall in police departments across Ontario. With countless baby boomers set to retire there will be many openings.
The director of the provinceÂ?s Special Investigations Unit, Peter Tinsley, will also be on hand to discuss the operations of his organization. SIU is called in whenever someone is hurt or killed during a police operation.
Time has been set aside to deal with the priorities and budget constraints of police departments post Sept. 11. Humber said priorities had to be immediately re-ordered to deal with new and very real threats following the terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington.
A panel will discuss stresses on budgets and the extra cost of policing.
