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OTTAWA – Ottawa Police Department is spending $ 1 million on new tasers.
A report for Monday evening’s meeting of the Ottawa Police Services Board will seek approval to purchase 200 new line energy weapons (CEWs) as well as operational and training cartridges.
The Ottawa Police Department approved a three-year plan in 2018 to provide CEWs to all sworn members serving on the front lines. At the end of 2020, 960 sworn members were equipped and trained with the weapons.
Employees say the operating life of a CEW is five years.
“The purchase of 200 CEWs is required in 2021 to maintain the lifecycle management plan.”
If approved, the police will purchase 200 CEWs from Axon Public Safety Canada.
REQUIRES SERVICE INCREASE IN SPRING
The Ottawa Police Service saw service requests rise 17 percent in the second quarter as COVID-19 restrictions were relaxed and demand for service returned to historic levels.
A report for the board of directors said there were approximately 87,000 service requests in the April through June period, with 82,000 calls being dispatched and 5,000 service requests being received through online reports.
“As the province has reached milestones in the roadmap to reopen Ontario, restrictive measures to curb transmission by the community have been lifted,” the report read for Monday’s meeting.
“Outdoor activities have resumed, indoor services have increased, and larger gatherings are allowed. With fewer constraints, the demand for services has naturally returned to historical levels. “
Police said calls that required a mobile response increased 20 percent by the second quarter, due to an increased focus on traffic monitoring and responding to collisions and thefts.
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