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th ei fp .c a Th e IF P -H al to n H ill s | T hu rs da y, Ja nu ar y 2, 20 20 | 10 Shop For Treasures Today! • Antiques • Clothing • Furniture • Household Items & More Drop Your Recyclables Today! Metal • Glass • Pop Cans & Tabs • Home & Office items Donate your items today to help YOUR Community! 905-877-6508 | 49A Mountainview Rd N Georgetown (just south of Armstrong) CLOSED Mon & Tues The province has finalized a decision to decommission police liaison officers (PLOs) at large prisons across Ontario, a mo- vethat Halton Police Chief Ste- phen Tanner calls, "one of the worst decisions I have ever seen." Tanner discussed the prov- ince's move during a Dec. 19 meet- ing of the Halton Police Board. He said he had been speaking with representatives of the Min- istry of the Solicitor General in hopes of getting them to recon- sider their position, but says he was told in early December that the decision would not be re- versed. Halton police currently have three PLOs who work full-time at Maplehurst Correctional Com- plex and the Vanier Centre for Women in Milton. These officers, Tanner noted, carry out criminal investigations inside the prison for which Hal- ton police receive funding from the province. This year that funding amounted to $400,000. With the province's decision, Halton police will no longer re- ceive this funding and the three Halton officers will be removed from Maplehurst on Jan. 15. Tanner has voiced concerns about the potential efficiency and budget issues this will cause giv- en that Halton police will still have to conduct criminal investi- gations at Maplehurst, but now without provincial funding to help cover the cost. "It's been a very frustrating process and ultimately this is a completely arbitrary decision made by the correctional servic- es side of the ministry to remove the $400,000 that we received an- nually to have our three detec- tives in Maplehurst," said Tan- ner. "We will still have to respond to a variety of occurrences there. We'll come up with an alternate response methodology to try and minimize the times we go to Ma- plehurst ... We need to minimize the impact of Maplehurst on the Halton Police budget and on the taxpayers of Halton." Assistant deputy minister Christina Danylchenko said in a letter to Tanner that moving for- ward, correctional services will leverage its own intelligence re- sources to gather intelligence within facilities to identify poten- tial threats, prevent drug traf- ficking and detect contraband. She said the province is mov- ing to establish a standardized approach to police engagement across the correctional system, which will ensure a consistent and effective response to crimi- nal matters, and improve collab- oration and intelligence gather- ing. Tanner argued the decision, in addition to being bad for Halton taxpayers, will yield no real sav- ings for the province. "Corrections staff are going to have to take on work that was pre- viously done by our officers, out- side of the criminal investiga- tions area, and I think that will cost at least half if not more of the $400,000," he said. "They could have had all this level of service and the assistance to the correctional officers who have a horrendous job inside that facility. In my view this program should have carried on. It was a small investment for the value." Danylchenko has said this change would have no impact on the safety and security of Maple- hurst or the Vanier Centre, and noted the same process is in place at 21 institutions across the prov- ince, which do not have PLOs on- site. Tanner said those 21 institu- tions are small prisons, and as such having no PLOs makes sense because police are only called upon to conduct criminal investigations every now and again. Maplehurst, Tanner pointed out, has around 1,800 inmates and is the site of one-third of the as- saults that take place in Halton. NEWS PROVINCE FINALIZES DECISION TO REMOVE POLICE FROM PRISON DAVID LEA dlea@metroland.com FORD GOVERNMENT SAYS MOVE WILL IMPROVE COLLABORATION AND INTELLIGENCE GATHERING The Province has decided to decommission three Halton police officers stationed at Maplehurst Correctional Complex, which includes the Vanier Centre for Women. Graham Paine/Torstar STORY BEHIND THE STORY We attended a meeting of the Halton Police Board where the Province's decision to no longer fund police liaison officers was discussed. We also interviewed Halton Police Chief Stephen Tanner following the meeting for additional information. DO YOU HEAR Ringing? Buzzing? Book a TINNITUS Consultation Today! 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