THUNDER BAY – The Thunder Bay Police Services Board say they are looking for public input as they complete the process of producing the organization’s next strategic plan.
The board has launched a survey seeking the public’s thoughts on a variety of subjects, including the effectiveness of police in the community, safety and race relations.
An opportunity was also provided for the public to comment on a variety of feedback topics, including the most pressing issue facing the police service in the past three years.
Kristen Oliver, chair of the Thunder Bay Police Services Board, said it’s a way to find out what the community thinks about policing in the city and let them help shape the in-progress strategic plan.
“It’s really important that we hear from our community members what it is they’re hoping to see, where the deficiencies are in our police service, what they’d like to see us improve on, where they think we’re doing really well,” Oliver said.
“Obviously the service provides the policing in the community, but it’s up to the Police Services Board to determine what the policies are going to look like and how we’re going to deliver policing in Thunder Bay.”
Oliver said the survey is broad-based, aimed at a public that often has very different interactions with police in their day-to-day lives.
For some, it might only be if they’ve been involved in a collision or their house is broken into. Others interact with police on a much more frequent basis, whether as victims of crime or someone who might have been accused of committing one.
“Or it might just be someone who has the perception of what crime is like in the community, and is the police service rising to the occasion to address the things that we have before us,” Oliver said.
“But then we also know the traffic issues are a huge issue in the community and that’s what people want to talk about. They want us to address the speeding and the rolling through red lights and stop signs.”
The Police Services Board has also come under fire in recent years, found guilty of systemic racism in Senator Murray Sinclair’s 2018 report, which led to the temporary suspension of the board while members underwent sensitivity training.
Oliver said there is some opportunity for survey responders to voice their feelings on the matter and rank Indigenous relations as a top concern.
“What we would really like to hear is your direct experience, not an assumption, not something you’ve heard through the community, but whether you’ve experienced something that you think needs to be brought to our attention,” Oliver said.
“It’s certainly a priority for our community. We’re moving forward on a lot of good initiatives that were outlined in the reports we got back in 2018.”
The survey also allows the public to rank the need for a new $56-million police headquarters to replace the existing Balmoral Street station within a question about the top five priorities for delivering policing.
The board earlier this year approved moving ahead with the facility.
Oliver said if people are saying no, the board wants to know why they’re saying no.
“Is there some work we need to do in terms of educating the community and why it’s a vital piece of infrastructure we need to address,” she said.
The survey can be found at https://www.thunderbaypsb.ca/survey/.
