Public feedback opens for BPS Strategic Plan

If you are a resident of Bridgewater now is your chance to have a say on the priorities of the Bridgewater Police Service (BPS) for the next three years.

The Bridgewater Board of Police Commissioners released it’s 2022-2025 Strategic Plan last week and now residents are being asked for their feedback.

Board Chair David Walker explained that if residents of Bridgewater want to have their say on policing now is the time, “This is your chance to look at the plan and tell us if the priorities we listed align with yours or if we missed something,” Walker said.

The plan in its current form list four main priorities which are; crime reduction, safe community, governance, and innovative operations.

In the crime reduction section both domestic violence and youth drug use are identified as growing issues the Board would like to see BPS prioritized.

“In recent years we’ve seen the number of calls involving domestic violence increase significantly, as is the case with youth drug use,” said Walker.

The safe community section lists improving police communications and improved traffic enforcement as it’s two main priorities.

Both the innovative operations and governance sections focus on the costs associated with BPS, with the former aiming to find opportunities for BPS and other police services to share resources and the latter aims to address any issues that may arise in financing the police department.

Residents can submit their feedback on the plan online, the public feedback period will end on September 30.