What new OC Transpo funding means for special constables
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OC Transpo's special constables are counting on recent provincial funding to bolster their frontline numbers, increase officer visibility at transit stations and allow for 'more proactive, less reactive' enforcement.
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'The province recognized there could be improvements in public safety on transit and specifically in the downtown core,' said OC Transpo chief special constable Peter Scislowski.
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The so-called 'New Deal for Ottawa' announced by the province last year includes $48 million in funding over three years to improve safety and security on transit and in the city's downtown core.
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That parcel of funding, announced in November 2024, followed the approval of the city's public safety plan and will increase the number of uniformed OC Transpo special constables on the transit system, along with funds for outreach and alternative mental health supports and the police neighbourhood operations centre near the ByWard Market.
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OC Transpo currently has 56 frontline special constables and will be using the provincial funding to hire eight more officers in August and September.
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'The biggest focus for us is adding staff,' Scislowski said during a recent tour of the city's Transit Operations Control Centre (TOCC) on Belfast Road. The tour included a ridealong through some of the city's transit hotspots, from Tunney's Pasture to Rideau Station at the edge of the ByWard Market, and a look inside the police neighbourhood operations centre on Rideau Street.
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'We're adequately staffed to respond to calls we receive right now, but it will improve that visibility for us at the stations. Our special constables are responding to calls from one end of the city to another and north to south… We want to have resources dedicated that are more proactive visibility on the system, and less reactive.
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The city received funding with the launch of Line 1 to improve its monitoring and response with eyes on more than 5,000 CCTV cameras across the transit network. Special constables and transit staff monitor thousands of cameras in the bustling open-space room, with wall-to-wall screens and a central map of all vehicles and their real-time locations on the road.
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