Meet your community Ward 4 community liaison: Erin Shacklette
A Little About Me: I am a resident of Ward 4, having lived here for over 16 years. I’ve been a resident of Hamilton for the better part of 35 years. I attended part of middle school as well as highschool and post secondary in Hamilton. I’ve held jobs in hospitality, shipping and receiving, corporate travel, and municipal government. I enjoy cycling, gardening and frequenting small businesses, especially on Ottawa St. I feel Hamilton has a lot of positive features and great potential, but like many residents, I do tend to harbour a healthy amount of skepticism and concern about public safety (in all respects).
What is my role? My role is to help facilitate communication between the residents of Ward 4 and the Hamilton Police Services (HPS). The Advisory Board is made up of members of the HPS and residents of Hamilton representing various wards across the city. This is a voluntary, unpaid position. I do not represent the City nor HPS. I have committed to attending quarterly meetings, and my goal is to provide feedback to the Committee based on questions, concerns and suggestions brought forth by residents such as yourself. In return, I hope to bring forth to you information I have learned at our meetings.
How did I end up in this position? I heard that our Ward 4 council’s office was looking for someone who would be willing to attend quarterly meetings and who had strong ties to the city. I have volunteered with the likes of Habitat for Humanity, Green Venture, and Environment Hamilton in the past and thought I would give it a go. There is no time limit for this role, so if anyone else has an interest, please reach out to Tammy’s office. The more community engagement we have, the more successful this Advisory Board will be.
What are some things I have learned in the two meetings the Committee has held so far:
There are Three Divisions:
- Division 1 (Downtown) 16 members working each shift
- Division 2 (East End) 17 Members working each shift
- Division 3 (Mountain) 18 members working each shift
This makes a total of 51 front-line patrol officers working each 12-hour shift for all of Hamilton.
Ward 4 falls under Division 2, which covers Sherman Ave to the west, Stoney Creek( Fifty Rd) to the east, the Escarpment to the south and Lake Ontario to the north.
Division 3 is the largest division geographically, and runs across the mountain from Binbrook/Glanbrook all the way across the Hamilton Mountain, Ancaster, Dundas, Flamborough and in to Waterdown.
Station 40 in Waterdown has broken ground, but it will take time before it is operational. Currently, the HPS is undergoing a beat alignment analysis to ensure squads are properly staffed to meet the needs of the community.
There is a priority coding system for responses. The Priority Response System goes from zero (0) to five (5) where 0 requires immediate response( eg, crime in progress).
It can take over 30 minutes for an officer to travel from a call in Binbrook to one in Watertown, which are both in Division 3. Thus, if the closest officers are all on priority 0 and 1 calls and your call is a priority 5, you may not receive a response for several hours or even until the next day. Officers may have to leave a lower-priority call to attend a higher-priority call, sometimes meaning they may have several open and pending calls to follow up on at any given time.
Although officers typically respond to calls within their own division, they will help out when needed. They also have other teams the front-line staff can call upon if needed.
What is the Bear Unit?
BEAR stands for: Break and Enter, Auto Theft(and Arson) and Robbery Branch
These officers investigate all incidents of robbery at financial institutions, and commercial premises.
The Branch also investigates incidents of commercial and ‘serial’ residential Break and Enters as well as commercial ‘chop shop’ (stolen auto parts) operations and arson.
To combat auto theft in the City of Hamilton, the Branch also operates a series of initiatives including a Bait Car program.
One of their most recent investigations and busts was Project Polar Bear.
What was Project Polar Bear? It was a years long investigation by the BEAR unit into an auto theft ring that had ties to Montreal( where many vehicles were shipped from) to international locations such as The UAE, Ghana and Iraq. Many also stayed in Canada were the vin numbers were changed and resold. HPS worked closely with Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), Criminal Intelligence Service of Ontario and Équité Association during the investigation and 8 people were arrested as a result. Most were from Hamilton. Roughly 88% of the stolen vehicles were recovered and returned to their owners. The auto theft ring operated within the broader GTHA with about half the vehicles coming from Hamilton.
How can the community participate in this process? Community members are encouraged to provide feedback at Ward 4 meetings which will be consolidated and presented to the Advisory Board Committee. You are not required to provide your name but you may if you wish. I am unable to assist with specific cases you may have reported yourself, or emergency situations, so residents are always encouraged to follow up with HPS directly in those instances. And of course, for immediate assistance call 911.