It’s official: Insp. Loris Licharson has been named detachment commander of the Collingwood and Blue Mountains OPP.
Licharson has served as interim commander since July when he took over from previous detachment commander Insp. Mary Shannon.
“I am very happy to be here permanently and I’m grateful for the opportunity,” said Licharson. “This is an outstanding detachment, and I’m so proud of the efforts that our officers put in day after day. They are true professionals, and they care about our communities.”
Licharson came to Collingwood from the OPP’s Huronia West detachment and lives on the west side of Wasaga Beach.
He put himself through university by joining the Canadian Armed Forces through the primary reserve, and found his way to policing through that avenue.
“I had been looking at going into the military as my goal. As I spent more time there, I had friends going into the OPP. I went on some ride-alongs and my goals started to change,” said Licharson in July when he was named interim commander. “I’ve always believed in duty to community, to country and family. Policing seems like an awesome opportunity to be able to make change and have an impact.”
Lichardson has spent some of his career working in the east region at the Loyalist detachment, and has worked in the north-west region in Sioux-Lookout as part of the crime unit.
He worked at the Huronia-West detachment for seven years, as a shift sergeant and then an operations manager. He spent the last three years in the Indigenous policing bureau through the provincial operations centre.
Since serving as interim commander since July 19, Licharson says there are aspects of the job in Collingwood that stand out from other areas.
“One thing that has really stood out for me here is the level of relationship, support and co-operation between Collingwood and the Town of the Blue Mountains and our detachment,” he said.
“It’s incredibly gratifying to work in an environment that is welcoming and collaborative when it comes to public safety, where we work together to deal with community concerns.”
