OPP is decommissioning its provincial communications centre in Smiths Falls and moving it to Orillia and Renfrew’s reeve has a problem with that.
Currently, the Provincial Communications Centre (PCC) in Smiths Falls serves as a call centre and provides emergency dispatching services for OPP East Region.
Peter Emon says it’s a part of a trend of Eastern Ontario being taken for granted and he can’t understand why the force can’t close a western communications centre instead.
Aside from concerns that service quality will be compromised, Emon also worries what the decision means for the region’s economy.
OPP says by reducing communications centres from five to four, it’ll pave the way for the implementation of provincial call-sharing, which will allow for emergency calls being answered by the next available dispatcher.
Emon says he will try to gather consensus at the county level and then deliver those concerns to the force.