OPP chief defends crackdown on speeding and seatbelts

Staff Sergeant Barry Freeburn says he is responding to the wishes of the community in pursuing traffic and speeding violations more aggressively than has been done in the past.

When the OPP detachment commander was being considered for the top job in Prince Edward County he conducted an informal phone survey of the community of his own accord.

“I just picked up a County phone book and called about a dozen homes,” said Freeburn. “I wanted to understand their concerns about law and order in the community.”

At the time the community was in the midst of coming to grips with three violent crimes and Freeburn expected to hear concerns aplenty about community safety and protection issues. Instead, nearly everyone he spoke with mentioned speeding as a key issue.

So when he got the job as detachment commander, one his first initiatives was to dedicate one of his 42 officers to monitoring traffic issues in the County.

Since then the visibility of the OPP on local roads has skyrocketed—as has the number of charges laid against drivers. The sharpest increases are for speeding and seatbelt violations.

Freeburn says he and his officers are also laying many more charges related to the use of cellphones and texting devices.Worse he says is that drivers are holding their smart phones at seat level, hoping to avoid detection—taking their eyes off the road for dangerous stretches of time.

“People aren’t getting the message that it is unsafe to use a cell phone while driving,” said Freeburn. “At any given time of the day I can pull over three between Wellington and Waring’s Corners using a cell phone.”

He dismisses the accusation that his officers are laying charges for minor offences that otherwise would be handled with a warning.

“In most cases the officer is likely doing the driver a favour,” said Freeburn, “The officer likely observed the driver going much faster than the speed limit and lowered the charge to save the driver points or reduce the fine.”

Across the province the OPP are putting greater emphasis on speeding, alchohol offences, seatbelts and highway safety. Freeburn says drivers had better get used to strict enforcement of traffic laws both inside and out of the County.

Freeburn acknowledges that his detachment is young and that many, including the detachment commander, live outside the County for a variety of reasons— not the least being that a comparable house can be purchased for about $25,000 less over the bridge.

Some feel this contributes to a growing distance between the OPP and those being served.

Price of policing

Detachment commander warns of rising costs

“People used to complain they don’t see the police enough in the community,” said OPP detachment commander Barry Freeburn. “I don’t hear that complaint anymore.”

Freeburn says increase in traffic enforcement and patrols has made his officers more visible in the community. But greater visibility has not eased public concerns that policing costs are too high. The staff sergeant says costs are likely to continue rising as police officers are called upon more often, the duties are more complex and the reporting requirements more cumbersome.

Calls for service are up significantly according to Freeburn. Once shaped by the summer season, he says tourism-based calls are more of a year-round phenomenon.

Staff Sergeant Freeburn says the complexity of calls for service is increasing and includes a high rate of domestic violence calls in the County.

“It used to be that an officer could deal with a domestic violence case in a couple hours,” said Freeburn. “Now it takes two officers between 12 and 14 hours to complete the paperwork. Processing an impaired driver charge once took two hours—now it takes between four and eight hours. Police have largely lost personal discretion in such cases. Our job has totally changed.”

Freeburn suggests County residents are getting a good deal for policing service as the province pays for 10 officers of his 42-officer detachment—part of its shared responsibility for the impact of hosting a provincial park in this municipality.

“Even though the province pays for these officers I assign them to the duties I determine appropriate,” said Freeburn. “It adds up to about 15,000 hours the province is subsidizing in this community.”