Staff Sgt. welcomed to Amherstburg Residents Forum meeting

Staff Sgt. Bryan Hayes speaks at last Thursday’s Amherstburg Resident Forum meeting. Group chair Del Oxford is at left.

Residents who attend meetings of the Amherstburg Residents Forum get a closer look at policing operations in town.

Staff Sgt. Bryan Hayes, who leads the Windsor Police Service – Amherstburg Detachment, appeared before the roughly 40 people at the forum’s meeting Sept. 25 at the Unifor union hall on Pickering Dr. Hayes gave insight into how Amherstburg is policed and his own background.

Hayes said he has been a police officer for the last 23 years after spending five years as a high school teacher.

“I’ve been born and raised in Amherstburg.”Hayes said being able to serve in the community is a responsibility he takes very seriously.

“It is very important to me,” he said.

The Amherstburg Detachment has 30 officers with Hayes working Monday through Friday in an administrative role. There are four platoons with a sergeant leading each and the detachment has three detectives.

Hayes praised Const. Nick Dupuis, the community services officer, stating Dupuis is heavily involved in the community. 

“He’s embedded in the community everywhere you look,” said Hayes.

Other officers, including auxiliary officers, “want to be engaged in what the town is doing.” He added while auxiliary officers are based out of Windsor, Amherstburg-born officers often put in to work local events.

The detachment also offers the COAST program, where a full-time officer works with a social worker on mental health-related calls.

Traffic concerns are the top issue he hears. A traffic officer is assigned to each platoon.

“Trust me, I know it exists,” said Hayes. “There’s no magic cure for bad drivers. Keep bringing your concerns forward. I do hear the concerns. We do our best with the resources we have.”

Police has access to an automated licence plate system that allows officers to run plates much quicker to see if there are suspended drivers on the road or those police may be seeking. Officers also now wear body-worn microphones to record what occurs on calls.

Administration in downtown Windsor allow him autonomy to run the Amherstburg Detachment, he said. 

“They trust in my judgement out here,” he said. “I feel we’re very connected to this community.”

Geography can be an issue getting to calls, but Hayes said they can get to calls in less than seven minutes. He told those in attendance at the meeting they can’t go lower than three officers on the road and there won’t be an officer pulled from Amherstburg to go downtown.

Open Air Weekends was addressed in the meeting, but Hayes said there hasn’t been an increased call for service. There may be calls for something like where someone who drank too much, but those can happen regardless.

“I don’t think it adds anything to our workload,” he said of the event.

One-third of the officers are Amherstburg residents, he said, and Hayes still views Amherstburg as one of the safest communities in Ontario. 

“Officers here are doing a bang-up job and want to police in their community,” he said.

Attention made to construction site thefts was questioned, with Hayes told “nothing is done about it” when it happens in Windsor. Hayes responded that “it’s only a priority if someone brings it to my attention that it exists. If there is an issue in Amherstburg that I’m aware of, I’ll put resources behind it.”

Staff Sgt. welcomed to Amherstburg Residents Forum meeting

By Ron Giofu