The Goderich Signal-Star, 1980-02-28, Page 35chief, new thrust for police
• from page 16
been the establishment of
a county wide .com-
munication system. In
April of 1979, the town
police forces of Clinton,
Exeter, Goderich,.
Seaforth and Wingham
entered a jeint central
dispatchsystem called
the Huron. Municipal
Police Communication
System. •
A study *as authorized
by the. Goderich Police
Commission which
" showed thre was a need
for such a system and
that it would be beneficial
—the p6Itc'e • and -the
channel, the provincial
common chaxinel, allows ,
the Huron forces access
to police throughout the
province. Previously, all
calls had to be placed
through h dispatcher.
The system is a great
update for police in the
area of crime prevention
and in public service.
• An,officer ` can do a
recorcheck on an in-
dividual within seconds,
with access to American
information systems if
communities they serve.
The system was funded
on a 75 percent basis by
the Ontario Police
...___Go-m..rxa.iss-i-en•--and---the-.___.,.._-d_._:...-•-_.~---
provincial goverment.
The system operates
from a central dispatch
centre in Goderich using
modern equipment with
one senior dispatcher and
four dispatchers on staff.
The system has proved
invaluable and a great
advantageaccording to
King.
It permits access to the
OPP Canadian Police
Information Centre in
Ottawa and a call for
information can be heard
by other police in other
towns. •
On the operational
channel the Goderich
force can speak .with
police forces throughout
.the county. A second
Big.
plans
for.'80
The. Goderich
Recreation department
ia looking forward to
hosting Sportsfest 1980 a
weekend of inter -
community competition.
Sponsored . and
organized by the . Lake
Huron, Zone Recreation
Association . in co-
operation. with the
Ministry, of Culture and
_._Recreation ; ---_.Sportsfest-
attracts competitors
from Huron, Perth, Grey,
Bruce, and• North
Wellington.
Events in the past have
included archery, euchre
for senior, horseshoe
pitching, shuffleboard for
seniors, soccer, T -ball,
tennis, girls' softball,
men's slowpitch,
swimming, women's
°softball, table tennis,
gymnastics,. fun run,
karate, diving and
sailing.
Eightee►. hundred
participated in Sportsfest
'79 in Listowel and
Goderich is hoping to
pass the 2,000 mark.
The Ten Kilometre
Classic Fun Run and
Road Race is another
new event staged by the,
recreation . department
held for the first time last
summer. The department
has applied to the London
Cycle Club to co -host the
race this year and plans
are to hold it on the
Goderich Square. •Rec
director Jim Moore
would' like to open the
race to masters and
novelty classes which he
has learned will double
the number of entries.
necessary.. The officer
knows within seconds the
information . he wants,
which cuts .down on the
delay to the police and thte
public.
Eventually, Goderich.
will have a computer
terminal to serve Huron
with„access to Canadian
and American systems.
Presently' this in-
formation is. available
through the terminal at
the, Goderich" OPP
station;
' The Goderich Police
department is . presently
rennovating its station on
West Street. The old cells
were strongly criticized
by the police inspection
panel. Two new concrete
block cells arebeing built
in new space acquired
through the recreation
office's ;move to the
arena. •
An identification office
was added to the station
in 1974 and an interview
room's and sargeants'
office will be included in
the present r.ennovations.
The force -has pur-
Chased riot equipment
and protective vests and
the officers are trained on
specialized courses at -the
°•poli•ce college. The
department .has en-
couraged and succeeded
in acquiring experieniced•
officers as well as new
recruits.
• Chief King points out
there are incidents of
Page 17
violence in a email town
even though the
pressures of life are less. ,:
Officers have faced,
loaded guns in the past
and King anticipates an
increase in violence in the
years ahead.
A policeman's actions,
in a " Violent situation
come down to a
judgement thing for the
policeman 'involved
observes Xing.
"Policing is no longer
only common sense."
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miff
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