OPP Auxiliary Program celebrates 50 years of volunteer service to Ontario
communities!

ORILLIA, ON, April 27 /CNW/ - The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) hosted a special celebration event at General Headquarters today to help mark the 50th anniversary of the OPP Auxiliary Program.

OPP Commissioner Julian Fantino was joined by community dignitaries, senior and retired Auxiliary staff, OPP members and the public to help celebrate and recognize what Canada's largest auxiliary police program has contributed to the citizens of Ontario these past 50 years.

The OPP Auxiliary Program was formed on April 1, 1960. The contingent of dedicated civilian volunteers works alongside the OPP's regular police members throughout the communities they serve in Ontario. They assist with duties such as traffic and crowd management, search and rescue, the OPP RIDE program and many more policing functions with which regular officers require assistance.

QUOTES

"Today, the OPP Auxiliary Program is the largest in Canada, one of the largest in North America and we are proud of the fact that many of our policing partners model their own volunteer bodies after ours. I know from my own experience as an auxiliary volunteer that the OPP Auxiliary Program is unique, distinguished and diverse, as are the fine officers who serve in it." - Julian Fantino, Commissioner, Ontario Provincial Police.

QUICK FACTS

    
    -   The OPP Auxiliary Program consists of a provincial complement of
        1,002 members deployed among 52 units throughout Ontario.

    -   In 2009, the OPP Auxiliary contributed 228,000 volunteer hours
        throughout communities served by the OPP.

    -   The program is administered by an Executive Committee comprised of
        senior Auxiliary, commissioned officers and representation from the
        Commissioned Officers Association and the Ontario Provincial Police.
    

LEARN MORE

Auxiliary background information can be found here: http://www.opp.ca/ecms/index.php?id=11

To see a video of the OPP Auxiliary Program, go to: http://www.opp.ca/media/Auxiliary/auxiliaryfootage.mp4 (95 MB MP4 video clip)

To learn more about the OPP Auxiliary Program, go to http://www.opp.ca/ecms/index.php?id=8

www.opp.ca

Follow us on Twitter at: www.twitter.com/OPP_News

For further information: Sgt. Laura Ambrose, OPP Auxiliary Program, Phone: [phone]