The OPP auxiliary in Collingwood and The Blue Mountains is in need of more community volunteers.
At its meeting on Nov. 12, The Blue Mountains council received a delegation from Jim Oliver, chair of the The Blue Mountains OPP Detachment Board, and local detachment commander Inspector Loris Licharson. The OPP representatives spoke to council about the OPP auxiliary and the need for more volunteers for the organization.
The OPP Auxiliary Unit is a group of volunteers who work with regular force OPP officers to ensure safety and well-being for the province. The auxiliary is made up of people from diverse backgrounds and civilian or military occupations.
Oliver and Licharson both explained that the local detachment is currently short of volunteers for the auxiliary.
“We’re well below our potential capacity,” said Oliver.
The detachment currently has eight volunteers on the auxiliary, while its authorized number is a total of 18 members.
Auxiliary members assist OPP officers. Their duties may include patrols with regular members and assisting with community events, seatbelt clinics, RIDE initiatives, safety displays, presentations, victim assistance and ceremonial duties.
“We lean on them heavily to support us,” Licharson told council. “I can’t say enough about our auxiliary members. They are outstanding. I’d love to see 18 people on that list.”
Becoming a member of the auxiliary is a volunteer position and is unpaid. All applicants must successfully complete an eight-day auxiliary recruit training course. An auxiliary member must commit 10 hours on patrol, as well as six hours in training per month.
“It’s no small commitment being part of the OPP auxiliary,” Licharson said, noting that members often perform their duties on nights and weekends and during poor weather events.
The minimum qualifications to serve as an OPP auxiliary member include:
- Minimum 18 years of age
- Canadian citizen or permanent resident
- Ontario secondary school diploma, or its equivalent (i.e., Grade 12 from any province of Canada). Candidates who do not have a Grade 12 diploma but have completed a college diploma program or a university degree program will be considered as having a Grade 12 diploma. Applicants educated outside Canada should refer to the Government of Canada — education assessment resources
- Class G driver’s licence with full driving privileges and no more than six demerit points
- No criminal record for which a records suspension (pardon) has not been received and be of good moral character and habits
- Pass medical, psychological, security, and financial assessments and a detailed character investigation. (Please note: The OPP Auxiliary program medical requirements align with the OPP uniform recruitment provincial constable selection process.)
Coun. Paula Hope asked if volunteering with the auxiliary could be a pathway for young people considering a career in emergency services like policing, firefighting or paramedics.
Oliver said it was definitely a path for young people interested in those professions to pursue.
“I see the auxiliary as a real chance for young people considering a career in any of those fields,” he said.
Anybody interested in more information about the program can contact the auxiliary at: [email protected]
