The Ottawa Police Service (OPS) will likely be shedding entry to its coaching facility at Algonquin School in 2026 and is searching for a brand new place to coach recruits.
In an interview with Ontario Chronicle, OPS Deputy Chief Steve Bell mentioned police began discussions at first of the yr to resume its current lease with the school for one more five-year time period.
At that time, Bell mentioned the school served police with a discover of termination that will have OPS vacate its skilled growth centre positioned in an Algonquin faculty constructing in 2026.
The ability, which OPS has been utilizing for 23 years, contains school rooms, workplace area, a firing vary, a simulations lab, and a defensive ways studio.
Bell mentioned it was “a shock” to listen to the school wished to terminate the lease.
“We have been there a very long time, that’s the principle space the place we do all of our coaching in, so it is a very massive focus for the Ottawa Police Service. We closely depend on that space,” he mentioned.
Ottawa police Deputy Chief Steve Bell speaks throughout a information convention April 28, 2022 in Ottawa. (Adrian Wyld/ Ontario Chronicle)
The faculty instructed police it wanted the additional area, Bell mentioned.
Bruce Hickey, communications supervisor with Algonquin School, mentioned the varsity had no touch upon the problem.
The transfer to finish OPS’s lease on the ability comes as the school is finalizing its 10-year grasp campus growth plan, which is wanting at present buildings and areas to see in the event that they meet the expansion wants of the school.
That plan will likely be offered to the school’s board of governors for approval in February 2025.
Matthew Cox, president of the Ottawa Police Affiliation, mentioned new OPS recruits initially attend the ability at Algonquin School previous to attending the Ontario Police School in Aylmer, Ont.
Seek for new facility
Whereas OPS seems for a brand new coaching area, Bell mentioned police are negotiating with Algonquin School within the hope of retaining entry to the firing vary within the facility for an extra 5 years.
He added different ranges will be present in and across the metropolis, however none might deal with OPS’s excessive demand.
The potential for needing to construct a brand new firing vary got here up Wednesday when OPS tabled its 2025 draft finances.
“We at all times establish dangers to the finances, issues that will occur that we won’t quantify or do not know which are going to happen, and a type of dangers is that we might want to make investments capital cash into constructing a short lived resolution for a firing vary,” Bell mentioned.
“We know that that will are available in 2025 and could be fairly expensive for the taxpayers.”
One other risk is to make use of the brand new police headquarters being in-built Barrhaven as a possible coaching area. Development on the $115-million constructing, dubbed the South Facility, started in 2023 and is predicted to be accomplished in 2026.
Bell mentioned the positioning contains seven acres of undeveloped land however added it is too early to decide on constructing a brand new coaching facility there.
Algonquin School’s transfer to finish OPS’s lease on the ability comes as the school is finalizing its 10-year grasp campus growth plan. (Trevor Pritchard/CBC)
Bell mentioned officers use the centre on a yearly foundation to qualify in use-of-force coaching as a way to keep their standing as a police officer.
Particular constables with Carleton College and OC Transpo additionally use the Algonquin School facility for use-of-force coaching.
Katrina Camposarcone-Stubbs, a spokesperson with OC Transpo, mentioned in an e mail that the 2026 closure of the centre may have no impact on OC Transpo’s coaching program as it’s rising its in-house certification initiatives.
Cox mentioned in the long term, he sees the necessity for OPS to have it is personal coaching area, impartial of Algonquin School.
“We have in all probability outgrown that area,” he mentioned.
