UPSALA, Ont. -- On the heels of the recent closure of their station at Upsala, the OPP are renovating their office at Shabaqua and increasing the number of officers working out of that location.
The Upsala building was deactivated at the end of May. That area will now be covered by officers deployed out of Shabaqua, 80 kilometres to the east.
Inspector Jim Graham, Thunder Bay Detachment commander, says Upsala had been staffed by only three constables, and there were challenges in being able to ensure officer safety.
In an interview with Tbnewswatch, Graham explained that the station at Shabaqua had been effectively closed for a number of years, being used by patrolling officers just "to check in" periodically.
To ensure appropriate staffing and officer safety in patrol areas around the two communities, the Upsala constables have been relocated to Shabaqua, while constables formerly deployed at Shabaqua will once again be based there.
By the time the transition is completed around the beginning of September, eight officers will work out of Shabaqua.
"We have a renovation happening with the Shabaqua building to house eight officers in a proper office environment," Graham said. "That will allow us to deploy two officers at that location every day, which meets our commitment to our officers for their safety, and also gives us a better patrol coverage in both Shabaqua and Upsala."
He said the OPP will now be able to do "a little bit more" in those areas with activities such as RIDE programs and marine patrols.
Because officers will usually be on patrol or responding to calls, as is the case with other OPP satellite offices, members of the public requiring service can access an OPP phone situated outside the Shabaqua office to request police assistance.
Last year, after a review of OPP detachments in the North West Region identified what were described as "opportunities for efficiencies and reinvestment," the Armstrong detachment ceased to be a stand-alone detachment and became a satellite of the Thunder Bay detachment.
The realignment resulted in increased staffing in Thunder Bay and a decision to raise the Detachment Commander position from Staff Sergeant to Inspector.
Graham said he's not aware of any other pending changes to OPP service in the Thunder Bay area.
"Thunder Bay was kind of a unique situation because of our restructuring and trying to make sure that we appropriately put our staff in the right areas to police the geography adequately and not leave officers in an unsafe position," he said.
