It shouldn’t be too long before the Dufferin OPP has a new home. Plans to relocate the police station are progressing, but they’re being kept under wraps for now.
“It does remain a priority,” says Jeff Giffen of the Ontario Realty Corporation, a Crown agency charged with finding and securing a suitable building.
“An announcement is pending shortly,” he shares, adding, “We don’t do announcements.”
Any announcement, Giffen notes, will come from the OPP.
“Certainly it has not been forgotten. It’s on the top of the list,” offers Insp. Dave Ross of the OPP corporate communications bureau.
He confirms an announcement is in the works, but says he can’t comment on when.
“Hopefully in the near future because it does continue to be one of our priority locations to have a new facility ... to best serve the people,” Ross says.
When the relocation effort was made public in April 2007, the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services indicated it would be completed by spring of this year. Ministry representatives couldn’t be reached for comment at press time.
A space analysis shows the detachment needs nearly four times the room it currently has. About 36 employees are sharing 2,900 sq. ft., which also houses two cells and a two-bay garage. Local politicians have been lobbying for a new location for several years.