Windsor city councillors can't have any doubt where their police chief stands on reigning in policing costs: go regional.
"There's no question in my mind that regionalization is the more efficient and just as effective model of policing," says Windsor Police Chief Al Frederick. "It's a much more efficient model without question."
The police chief answered council questions Tuesday night regarding a recent report on modernizing policing from the Association of Municipalities of Ontario.
He points to regionalization as a way of relieving pressure on the tax base policing relies on.
"We're the biggest public sector [service] that's reliant on municipalities wholly," says Chief Frederick. "That's why it's such a prominent topic."
Chief Frederick says the first step towards a regional service has already been taken with Amherstburg requesting a costing from the OPP. Officials with Amherstburg, Windsor and neighbouring LaSalle have all met and continue to meet on the matter.