Chief’s Verbal – July 26, 2010

Break &Enter Team in West

In February of 2010 a male was arrested by the newly formed (since March 2010) Break and Enter squad responsible for investigations in West Division.  Through thorough investigation and dedicated interviews of the accused, the team was able to attribute a total of 86 break and enter crimes in West Division to this one person.  He was pleased to see that the unit has already made their mark and shown their dedication.  It is of comfort to the community that theses crimes have now been solved and the culprit identified.

Dickinson Days

The 2010 Dickinson Days Festival took place June 4^th and 5^th. Auxiliary Officers Ben Duesling, Sarah Armstrong, Anne Marie Piche, Tamara Petraznyk, Keith Holman, and Jonathan Rowan assisted with this heritage event.

Each Auxiliary Officer demonstrated an excellent proactive attitude, effective communication skills, flexibility and willingness to help.  They greatly assisted with the parade then volunteered to remain to answer questions from members of the public and CPC volunteers.  Many stayed until 22:00 despite attending the Open Doors Ottawa event at 211 Huntmar the following morning, to provide tours.

Individually and as a team, they made very positive impressions on youth, adults and other members of the OPS.  The work that has been seen by this volunteer group has been tremendous and in particular because many questions were raised about their role and mandate.  He feels they fit very well into their role.

911 Service Level Agreement

On July 19^th, 2010 the 911 service level agreement was signed between the Police Service Board and the City of Ottawa after a year of meetings between stakeholders.   This agreement remains an important part of the ongoing partnership between the Ottawa Police and its partners.  The 911 service level agreement remains the cornerstone for the management of the 911 system for the City of Ottawa.

The service level objective in place at 9-1-1 in Ottawa is to have 97% of all calls answered within six seconds, once received by the Ottawa Police phone system.

The Bell Canada system requires approximately five seconds to process a call, which once delivered to the Ottawa Police Service, is processed by an Automatic Call Distributor system and directed to the first available agent.  Incoming 9-1-1 calls are forced, which means that an available call taker is automatically alerted to the incoming call by an audible tone in their headset followed by an instant connection.

This high objective far exceeds those set by other Primary PSAP’s in Ontario (i.e. Toronto Police Service- 90% of all calls answered within 10 seconds, Peel Regional Police Service- 95% of all calls answered in 6 seconds, OPP- 95% within 12 seconds).

In comparison, the National Emergency Number Association (NENA USA) call answering standard is to answer 90% of all 9-1-1 calls within 10 seconds during the busy hour and answer 95% of all 9-1-1 calls within 20 seconds.

Because of goal of the  communications centre is to offer a high degree of service, the service level objective was reduced in 2010 from 98% to 97% in order to shift the focus from purely reaching the target to ensuring that the information is properly received, triaged and dispatched.

Deputy Chief Sue O’Sullivan’s last Board meeting.

I want to congratulate Sue for the work she has done in her 30 years in this police service and for the friendships she has given to many over the years.  I know she will do a tremendous job for the Ombudsman of Victims.  Thank you Sue for the work you have done for the Ottawa Police Service and the support you have given me over the past 3 years.