In a meeting that took place last week, the Gananoque Police Services Board went over the issue of paid duty officers, with questions arising about their fee structure.

Police Chief Kai Liu introduced a new payment scheme which would now come with administration fee. According to Chief Liu, it’s common for third parties to hire the services of officers for paid duty. In previous years, these officers were paid directly from the organization. With the new payment structure, Liu says that everything will now go through town hall.

Third parties hire officers for a number of purposes, including providing security during private functions, school events, sports events, funerals, concerts, private parties, and grand opening celebrations of establishments and the like. Additionally, officers are also paid to control traffic and act as traffic escorts. Officers are paid for a minimum of 3 hours at the first class constable rate of $258. If a vehicle is required, then that will cost another $28.25.

Also discussed was the Police Services budget and the proposition to purchase BlackBerries for officers. With the service hitting a snag with their IT budget amount, the purchase of the smart phones will have to be delayed until next year.

With the 2010 Winter Olympics in full swing, thousands of police officers and other public service personnel from all Canada are deployed in Vancouver, British Columbia, to help keep peace and order in the region. Const. Rhonda Grant, from Gananoque’s Police Service, together with Sgt. Junior White and Constables Peter Lorenz and Mike Driscol are currently pitching in on the effort as well. All four Gananoque police officers are now in Vancouver working together with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Const. Grant is presently part of one of the event’s surveillance teams and is paired with another police officer from British Columbia. She commented that working behind the scenes in one of the year’s biggest sporting events has exceeded her expectations. A lot more work needs to be done but things are pretty relaxed, she added.

The Gananoque Police Service held a lottery last year for those interested to work in Vancouver during the Olympics. Three constables were chosen in June, with Sgt. White assigned to be their supervisor. Late last year, the officers got their first instructions from the Integrated Security Unit (ISU) regarding deployment dates and assignments.

Gananoque’s police officers will be working in their own uniforms and carrying their own equipment.