Groundbreaking Ceremony for New Brant OPP Building

Thursday, 28 March 2019 15:10

The OPP and the County of Brant had an official ground breaking ceremony today for a brand new OPP Detachment.

PARIS - The official groundbreaking of the brand new OPP Detachment for Brant County happened today.

Constable Ken Johnston explains why they needed a new facility.

"When we amalgamated with the Paris Police in the year 2000, we moved into their building which was in the town of Paris and it was built to accommodate 20-25 officers, we currently have 60 working in that building so we have just out grown our space there and with the increasing population and the increase in traffic on the roads, we just have an increasing size of police service, so we just need a bigger building to accommodate that."

Johnston says the new detachment will have a lot of features.

"We will have everything here, everything from holding cells, booking rooms, administration, all of our specialty services will have rooms accommodated here, everything will all be under one roof, which we are all under one roof now, we just are kind of on top of each other sometimes, that's all, so we will have a lot more space."

County of Brant Mayor David Bailey says this build is a partnership between the OPP and the County of Brant.

“The County of Brant and OPP have shared a strong and valued partnership for decades. The dedicated and professional OPP officers and staff have played a key role in supporting a prosperous Brant community. This new building is a testament of the County’s support and appreciation for the work the OPP do every day in Brant. We are grateful for the role the OPP play in the community and the skills and services offered.”

Bailey says the County has been mulling over building a new detachment since 2003 and he is happy they are finally in the process where we can move forward.

“We are committed to working together; enhancing the quality of life for all in the County of Brant"

Construction has already started on the new detachment and the hope is to have ribbon cutting ceremony next March. Total cost of the project is estimated at $9.4 million dollars. The new County of Brant OPP Detachment building will be approximately 22,000 square feet and will be located at the corner of Rest Acres Road and Bethel Road.