A Message from Centretown Community Police Officer Cst Stephanie Lemieux

In response to the changes in the world today as a result of COVID-19, I wanted to share a message with you from Chief Sloly that is in direct response to concerns emailed to him from members in Centretown.

“Thank you for your email. I appreciate the concerns that you have shared. I also appreciate the fact that you and other local stakeholders are seeking to have greater police presence in Centertown to better assess and address emerging and ongoing issues. This bodes well for the investment of the Centertown Neighborhood Resource Team that will be fully deployed in the fall.

As you are likely aware, we are receiving similar such communications and requests for heightened police presence from a wide variety of community stakeholders across the city. The COVID 19 situation continues to be very dynamic with changes coming everyday which place new demands on the OPS as well as all city services. We are trying to make near real time adjustments to our daily operations as well as to our specific COVID 19 incident command plan in support of Ottawa Public Health.

Regardless, the OPS will remain operational on a 24-7/365 basis. We are continually working to enhance and customize our strategy to provide high visibility, high impact patrols as well as other effective ways to improve public safety during this pandemic period.” – Chief Sloly

I would like to reiterate to you and to your communities that the Ottawa Police Service is still responding to calls for service as usual. I understand that many of your community members are likely working from home and those who have their own restaurants or businesses may be concerned for the safety and security of their closed establishments. I am asking you to encourage your community to call police and to report incidents to the police, as usual. The same message applies that we are working under an “intelligence-led policing model” and will continue to put our resources where the community (from the reports) tells us the problems are. I too remain committed to being your direct liaison to the OPS. In the event I get redeployed to another section due to COVID-19, I will make sure you are aware, but until such time, it is status quo for my section.

Please be mindful that there are individuals out there who are taking advantage of this situation and they are adapting their scams/frauds to take advantage of the general public during this time of COVID-19. The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre is a great resource, providing detailed information about this scam and others. I encourage you to check out the link I have attached below.

https://www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/index-eng.htm

I have also attached, the last media release that the OPS has sent out regarding the latest operational changes in response to COVID-19.

Should you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Take care,
Stephanie