The Brighton Community Policing Committee will be able to do its important outreach educational work this year in conjunction with the OPP, thanks to a grant from Brighton council recently.
Brighton Mayor Brian Ostrander met with Community Policing Committee treasurer David Green recently to deliver a cheque for $1,000 on behalf of council to the volunteer group that assists the OPP with various education programs.
The funds came as part of Brighton council’s annual commitment to community groups through its grant program. Mayor Ostrander noted the grant will help the group get back into area high schools with its state-of-the-art distracted driving simulator that the OPP and the policing committee take from school to school to show students that “even a moment of distraction is not acceptable when you’re behind the wheel”.
“We have had an active Community Policing Committee in Brighton for many, many years, almost 20 I think, and we try to support all our organizations in the community as best we can. And, in this case, it was through a grant from the budget,” said Mayor Ostrander.
Active since 1994, the Brighton Community Policing Committee serves as a liaison between the community and the OPP to improve and maintain the quality of life and communication within our community, said Green.
In 2018 and 2019 the group was able to raise sufficient funds that allowed the group to purchase a distracted driving simulator that was used at local high schools and during the 2019 Applefest and also at various private and public functions around Northumberland County.
Being on hiatus since March 2020 through two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Brighton Community Policing Committee hopes to resume its educational program this year, said Green. The funds will help with the operational costs associated with the program.
The $1,000 grant will “allow us to carry on the good work we’ve done working alongside the OPP,” said Green.
The distracted driving simulator is used to help all drivers, new and mature, to understand the effects of being distracted while driving. Distracted driving has quickly become the most violated traffic law and it’s costing lives, said Green.
“We try to show them each in real life what happens when you reach for a cell phone or take a phone call or not being attentive to driving with your music blaring in the background, etc. We’re trying to help everyone understand the time that you take your eyes off the road is the time accidents will happen,” he said.
Green said the committee expects to be at all three secondary schools — East Northumberland Secondary School in Brighton, Campbellford High and Cobourg High — this year.
“During the school year, we want to get in and show the kids that police officers are really human beings and are on their side. All we want is the best for them to have a longer, fruitful life,” said Green
The committee intends to have the distracted driving simulator at the 2022 Applefest in Brighton and other functions around the county “where we can display the simulator and get people actively involved to try and understand what happens when you become a distracted driver,” he said.
The volunteer committee currently has six members, said Green, and is actively recruiting for more.
(Written by: Alan Rivett)
