Two Port Hope police officers on a walking patrol. The amalgamation of Cobourg and Port Hope police was debated at the Nov. 5, 2024, regular council meeting.
The debate from Port Hope council over a letter from Cobourg regarding policing:
The Port Hope council discussed a letter from the Town of Cobourg proposing a potential merger or collaboration with their police services.
Councillor Adam Pearson emphasized the community’s support for the local police and concerns about adding turmoil during significant municipal changes.
Port Hope council made it clear it is not interested in amalgamating police services with Cobourg or Hamilton Township Tuesday night at a regular council meeting.
However, it did not rule out exploring a police report from Northumberland County Council or reviewing the current services to find possible savings.
As you will hear in this In Their Words, Port Hope is one of the safest communities in Canada. Councillor Les Andrews told council it has the second-lowest score on the Crime Severity Index in the country. It measures the changes in the level of the of crime within communities across Canada. All crimes are assigned a weight based on their seriousness. Statistics Canada releases these figures every year.
Pearson made a motion saying in part: “Council of Municipality of Port Hope believes that a strong and supported local police force is necessary to provide a more community-specific approach to policing, and whereas the County of Northumberland has reviewed the potential for amalgamation police services through their consideration of report Police Service Review at the September 18, 2024 meeting and has not taken any further action on the subject.
Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Council of the Municipality of Port Hope receives this correspondence for information and thanks the town of Coburg for bringing this matter forward for consideration, and further, the Council of the municipality of Port Hope take no further action on the subject of amalgamation and or expansion of policing with the town of Cobourg and the Township of Hamilton for the remainder of this term of Council.”
It was defeated.
A majority of council disagreed with the clause, which set a limit on discussion for the remainder of this term. Some politicians want the option to discuss possible changes to the police force during budget deliberations, while others want to learn more about the Northumberland County police study tabled in September. In the end, many felt the clause was too limiting.
You listen and see if it is the right decision.
In Their Words is a feature that allows people to listen to what is going on at the various councils within Northumberland. No spin. No opinions. No one is telling you what to think. Just what was said.
It is a chance you might not have otherwise to hear directly from your elected representatives. I hope you find it useful and informative.
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