Sarnia Police Headquarters on Christina Street. December 6, 2018. (Photo by Colin Gowdy, BlackburnNews)Sarnia Police Headquarters on Christina Street. December 6, 2018. (Photo by Colin Gowdy, BlackburnNews)
Sarnia

Revised harassment policy for Sarnia police

Sarnia police officers will undergo updated harassment training in response to Ontario legislation.

Bill 132 was rolled out by the provincial Liberals in 2016 to prevent sexual violence and harassment.

Human Resources Advisor Ellen Brown said the local police service should be implementing a revised harassment policy within the next few months.

"It's really focusing on building a culture of workplace professionalism and respect, which I think exists really well here already, we're just going to be enhancing that and bringing more attention to it," she said.

Brown said officers will undergo both hands-on and e-learning training once the revised policy is in place.

Cst. John Sottosanti said they've worked with city hall on implementing the police service's new policy.

However, Sottosanti said harassment training for officers will be different than what Sarnia City Council recently took.

"We're a policing culture, so there's different expectations and different things would happen here than would happen, for example, at Parks and Rec," said Sottosanti. "What we also do is draw from other police services and they give us information on what they have -- it's not always about reinventing the wheel, but rather use what's been working best."

Sottosanti said officers usually complete hands-on training at the beginning of each year.

Human Resources Advisor Ellen Brown. March 28, 2019. (Photo by Colin Gowdy, BlackburnNews) Human Resources Advisor Ellen Brown. 

Read More Local Stories