Two-Vehicle Collision At Lansdowne Street and Ashburnham Road; Injuries Unknown
/A two-vehicle collision occurred at the intersection of Lansdowne Street and Ashburnham Road late Monday morning.
Peterborough Blogs
St. John Paul Elementary II School Reopened After Suspicious Object Discovered; No Threat to Public, Kawartha Lakes Police Say
/Students and staff of St. John Paul II Elementary School can breathe a sigh of relief as their school reopened after a faculty member discovered a report of a suspicious object on Monday morning.
Photo courtesy of St. John Paul’s Catholic Elementary SChool.
The object was discovered at roughly 8:30 a.m. at the Lindsay school.
Kawartha Lakes Police were contacted and had the school evacuated for safety precautions.
After a thorough search of the school and grounds, the police concluded that the object did not threaten the public.
Police say there is absolutely no threat to public safety. Therefore, the scene has been released and the school has been re-opened.
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Peterborough Police to Adapt Verified Alarm Response Program
/The Peterborough Police Service has introduced a Verified Alarm Response Program (VARP) where Alarm Monitoring Services will be required to verify any alarm signal they receive before notifying police beginning on March 1.
Photo courtesy of the PEterborough Police Service.
“The Peterborough Police Service is adopting VARP to improve service delivery to residents and business owners and to decrease the time spent responding to false alarms,” says Peter Sejrup, Inspector, Support Services, Peterborough Police Service. “Annually, the Peterborough Police Service responds to approximately 1,000 calls for service regarding alarms with a 5-year average false rate of approximately 94 per cent. This represents a significant amount of resources dedicated to incidents where police are not required.”
To dispatch police to a property-related alarm, alarm monitoring services will have to verify that a criminal offence has occurred or is occurring using at least one of the following verification criteria:
Audio Signal (confirm criminal activity through sound detected on the premises)
Video Signal (confirm criminal activity through visual images)
On-Scene Witnesses (who can confirm suspected criminal activity from the scene)
Multiple Alarm Activation Points (at least two sensors in a manner or sequence that indicates suspected criminal activity)
The Peterborough Police Service will continue to provide immediate response to panic/hold-up/duress alarms when there is reason to believe that a crime is in progress or an emergency exists. Verification of those types of alarms is not required as the community's safety is paramount.
Learn more about the Verified Alarm Response Program: https://www.peterboroughpolice.com/en/learn/verified-alarm-response-program-v-a-r-p.aspx
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Peterborough Police Partner With Wounded Warriors Canada to Provide Additional Mental Health Support to Officers and Their Families
/In an effort to provide additional mental health services to first responders, the Peterborough Police Service and Wounded Warriors Canada have announced a partnership on Monday afternoon.
Wounded Warriors Canada is a nationally recognized organization and mental health service provider dedicated to serving ill and injured trauma exposed professionals and their families. The group is currently working with over 100 police services across the country. Photo by David Tuan Bui.
The partnership will aid Peterborough Police Service members and their families.
The Peterborough Police Service Peer Support Team has been actively seeking partnerships with external agencies to benefit all Service members. Wounded Warriors Canada has been chosen as its first priority partnership according to a press release.
“I was part of organizations both at York Regional Police and London Police Service where we partnered with Wounded Warriors so when this came to my attention here in Peterborough, it was a natural that I would support this here as well for the benefit of our members,” said Chief Stuart Betts of the Peterborough Police Service.
Peterborough Police officers often encounter traumatic experiences which is something the public may or may not be aware of, explained Betts.
“Most people are going to see one or two really terrible things that happen in their lives,” he said. “Our police officers can see one, two, three or five in a single 12-hour shift and there's an accumulative effect that goes along with that. Some of our folks are responding to things where people do the most horrible, imaginable things to other individuals out there.”
“That's what the police are affront to and exposed to,” said Scott Maxwell, Wounded Warriors executive director. “What they could see in a shift could be more trauma than an individual maybe hopefully in their lives. But the reality of that requires very tailored, culturally-specific, occupationally aware, training and counselling assistance to make sure that we are getting in front of this reality.”
Anyone from the Police Service can confidentially apply for Wounded Warriors’s services.
Some available programs include:
Trauma Resiliency Program
Spousal Resiliency Program
Couples Overcoming PTSD Everyday
Couples Resiliency Program
Warrior Kids Camp & Virtual Program
Surviving Family Program
PTSD Service Dogs
Operations Stress Intervention Dog
“We specialize in residential facilitated group counselling programs for individual members, couples counselling, supports for spouses, surviving families (line of duty death and deaths by suicide) and support for kids aged 8-16 years old,” said Maxwell.
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Police and Fire Services Seeking Public For Information of Margaret Avenue Fire
/The Peterborough Police and Peterborough Fire Services are asking anyone with information to come forward about a fire on Margaret Avenue on Saturday morning.
Photo by David Tuan Bui.
At roughly 12:20 a.m., the fire was spotted and called in. The home had just been sold and was empty at the time.
Seventeen firefighters responded to the call and heavy smoke billowed from the house upon arrival. After a search, fire crews did not find anyone in the fire and police believe no one was injured. The fire was extinguished without incident.
The Ontario Fire Marshal has since determined the circumstances to be suspicious and the Peterborough Police Service is investigating.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call Detective Constable Mark Jilesen with Peterborough Police at 705-876-1122 x285 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online.
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$9.3 Million Investment Made For New Net-Zero Fire Station At Former Northcrest Arena Location
/The federal government and Federation of Canadian Municipalities have invested $9.3 million to construct a new net-zero fire station at the former Northcrest Arena location on 100 Marina Blvd., announced on Wednesday afternoon.
The Green Municipal Fund, a $1.6B fund which since 2001 from the Government of Canada, has helped municipalities and local actors switch to sustainable practices faster and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by close to 3M tonnes. Photo by David Tuan Bui.
The announcement was made by Whitby Member of Parliament Ryan Turnbull, who also serves as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry. He was present on behalf of Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources and Scott Pearce, President of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM).
“This transformative project will incorporate renewable energy, mass timber construction, and water-saving technologies, demonstrating a commitment to sustainability and substantial operational cost savings of $24,270 per year for the city,” said Turnbull.
The $9.3 million investment is divided into $1,226,080 in grants and $8,173,910 in loans through the Green Municipal Fund.
The new station will replace the existing Fire Station 2 at Carnegie Road.It can no longer meet the city’s needs since being built in 1967, according to the City.
“The new Fire Station #2 will be the City’s first building that is designed, built, and certified as a Zero Carbon Building for both performance and design categories,” said Mayor Jeff Leal. “This key investment in the City of Peterborough Fire Services will enhance community safety by reducing emergency response times while also protecting our environment by producing zero emissions.”
The net-zero building features automated control systems, ground source heat pumps, rooftop solar panels and a heat-recovery system. The building will also be constructed from mass timber instead of concrete, steel or aluminum to achieve a lower carbon footprint. It will also include water-saving features and be resituated to reduce flood risk and meet operational standards.
Construction completion is slated for this fall. The City and Mayor Leal have yet to determine what will happen to the Carnegie fire station location.
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Peterborough Police Receive $167,000 From Provincial Government to Fight Against Hate Crimes
/A portion of money confiscated by the police from crimes is being reinvested in the Peterborough Police Service with $167,000 from the Ontario government to differentiate a hate bias incident and a hate crime, announced at the Peterborough Police Station on Friday afternoon.
MPP Dave Smith (left) and Chief Stuart Betts (right) making the joint announcement at the Peterborough Police Station. Ontario is investing more than $1.7 million to help stop hate-motivated crimes across the province. Photo by David Tuan Bui.
The announcement was made by Dave Smith, Peterborough-Kawartha MPP so the police can develop a deeper understanding of hate crimes and hate bias to create informed and efficient responses and strategies.
“There is no better way to use the proceeds from crimes then using that money on prevention,” said Smith. “We are seeing a rise in hate-related incidents and it is unacceptable in our community. Everyone deserves the safety and assurances that they will not be targeted because of their beliefs, race, or sexual orientation.”
This project will include a Campaign designed to educate the Community about the distinction between hate bias and hate crime, streamline reporting protocols and the role of law enforcement and the collective accountability inherent in countering these issues. A comprehensive hate incident database will also be established.
Since 2018, Ontario has invested more than $16 million in crime prevention initiatives across the province through the Proceeds of Crime Front-Line Policing Grant program.
“Not only will a comprehensive hate incident database be developed but there will be ongoing training for all members of the Service and a public education campaign to inform members of our community about when and how to report to police as well as the difference between a hate bias incident and a hate crime,” said Chief Stuart Betts. “It’s important for us to know when these types of incidents happen and that all residents continue to feel safe in reporting them. Community safety is always our top priority, and we want to do everything we can to ensure a safe inclusive community for all.”
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Peterborough Police Seeking Two Missing Teen Girls
/UPDATE: The girls have been located.
The Peterborough Police Service is asking for the public’s assistance in locating two 14-year-old girls, Ireland MacLean and Chloe Drummond, reported missing Thursday afternoon.
They were first reported missing around 4:30 p.m. Since then, officers have been checking known locations, with information leading police to believe they went to Toronto last night.
The Peterborough Police Service has since been working with the Toronto Police Service to locate the girls. Family and police are concerned for their safety.
The girls were last seen on a security camera in Peterborough at 11:35 a.m. in the Erskine Avenue and Barnes Crescent area.
The girls are described as:
Ireland MacLean
5’4
Approx 130lbs
Shoulder length dark hair
Wearing black puffy coat, black/gray camouflage track pants, beige Sorrel boots, light gray shirt with pink skulls
Chloe Drummond
5’6
Thin build
Shoulder length black hair
No description of clothing available
Anyone with information is asked to call Peterborough Police at 705-876-1122 x555 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online.
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Peterborough Police to Enforce Emergency Vehicle Traffic Initiative During January
/During January, the Peterborough Police Service Traffic Unit will be keeping a watch out for motorists failing to slow down and move over for emergency vehicles, announced on Thursday.
Photo by David Tuan Bui.
’The Slow Down, Move Over’ law requires motorists approaching a stopped emergency vehicle with its lights on to slow down and pass with the emergency vehicle with caution.
If an emergency vehicle with lights on is approaching the motorist while moving, the motorist must move off to the right and stop.
The fine for failing to do so is $400 and three demerit points.
Emergency vehicles are defined as Police, Fire, Ambulance and Tow vehicles.
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Peterborough Police Service Announce New Deputy Chief
/The Peterborough Police Services Board has appointed Jamie Hartnett as the next Deputy Chief of the Peterborough Police Service, announced on Thursday afternoon.
Photo courtesy of the Peterborough Police Services Board.
