Retiring PEC OPP commander proud of policing achievements; seeks public opinion

Administrator | Apr 06, 2025 | Comments 0

Prince Edward County OPP Detachment Commander, Staff Sgt. John Hatch

The countdown to retirement is on for Sergeant John Hatch, Prince Edward OPP Detachment Commander, and his final duties mirror those he was given when he first arrived on the job.

“When I took over in May 2017, the very first thing they said was, ‘Here, you have to write the detachment action plan.’ And I had no idea what I was doing, and I remember it was a real struggle,” recalled Hatch, during a recent media gathering.

Eight years later, he is confident about writing yet another action plan, based on the wants of the community, and the successes of previous plans.

This month he will be asking the community “What do you want to see from the Prince Edward County OPP for the next three to five years?”

“I’m going to write the plan and then whoever the next detachment commander is, I’m just going to say, “Here you go. This is what the people want (for 2026 – 2029).”

He shared his top 10 policing successes over the past 10 years, Tuesday night during the OPP detachment board’s annual report to council.

“Our statistics are amazing, and I don’t want to jinx us, but they’re really, really good. It’s taken a long time to get there… We want to get the word out that we’re doing such a great job. Our crime is down, our highways are safe. This is a great place to visit, but if you come here, you better follow the law because impaired driving is one of our huge things, and fraud prevention is huge as well.”

His top 10 policing successes in PEC over the past 10 years are:

The formulation of the Community Safety and Well-Being Plan which involves many others in the community and focuses on five priorities: housing and homelessness; seniors’ support; poverty reduction; mental health and problematic substance abuse; domestic violence and intimate partner violence.

Second is the implementation of IMPACT (Integrated Mobile Police and Co-Response Team) as there were 171 mental health act incidents in 2024 in the County. (See story link below)

Third is the implementation of DAII (Detachment Abuse Issues Investigator) Cst. Aaron Miller as there were 222 domestic violence incidents in 2024.

Fourth is the implementation of body cameras, in car cameras and automatic licence plate recognition.

Fifth, he reports “PEC is one of the safest communities in the province by the numbers” with a 10-year violent crime rate of .1 due to a murder in 2020; and zero rates for other offences causing death and attempted murder.

Sixth on the list is the trend downward of property crime with a 10-year average of 2.4 incidents of arson (none in the past two years). Stats he shared show a 10-year average of 61.8 for break and enter incidents (20 in 2024 compared to a high of 95 in 2017 and steadily dropping from there).

Seventh on his list noted no fatal motor vehicle incidents in the County for the past two years. The 10-year average is 1.8 with none in 2024 and 2023; four in 2022. Personal injury accidents, he reported are also down over the years – with a 10-year average of 47 (36 in 2024; 36 in 2023; 37 in 2022 and a high of 58 in 2015).

Eighth on this list of top 10 PEC successes is higher visibility and community engagement, something he notes was requested by the community in his last action plan. More foot patrols and attendance at community events was the request. Hatch reports there were 105 in 2016, 280 in 2020 and a whopping 726 in 2024.

Ninth on the list of successes, he notes, is mental health support for PEC OPP officers and families, which includes the creation of the OPP health workplace team; creation of mental health supports through the OPP Association and the annual detachment ‘family nights’ sponsored by the OPP Detachment Board.

The PEC OPP detachment is currently at 87 per cent staffing,” he noted, with two recruits that arrived in February; three more officers arriving in May and one more recruit arriving in August.

He takes pride in announcing the 10th success on the list: Community Satisfaction. When polled in 2017, more than 75 per cent of respondents stated they wanted a return to community policing.

In 2024, there were 11,511 calls for service; 2,602 traffic stops and 726 foot patrols (and attendance at events) “with zero complaints” about officers. He joked that the detachment’s presence at the Picton Fair rivalled that of the ever popular presence of the fire department.

Hatch remains concerned that Prince Edward County continues to have an impaired driving problem, and he wants to see continued effort on fraud prevention. There were more than 80 impaired driving incidents last year (about 70 per cent of the drivers he has noted previously are County residents – the majority within the ages of 20 to 45). Drugs and driving, he stated, are not as big a problem. The County also had zero opioid incidents in 2024. There were 17 the year before.

“When I get asked what are the priorities, drinking and driving is a big one for me; fraud prevention is big as well… and intimate partner violence.” IMPACT, he noted is making a difference. (see story below)

“Our citizens in the County lost 1.2 million dollars. It’s a lot of money and the average was around $9,000 … and only 10 per cent of people report fraud.”

Fraud-related incidents numbered 178 by November last year. People don’t report because they feel so embarrassed, Hatch says, stressing that the victims are not just seniors. “Prevention is the key.”

Overall proud of the achievements of the detachment, Hatch will be leaving with satisfaction as the County is where he always wanted to retire.

“My dad and my grandfather were both detachment commanders so I had a goal of finishing my career as a detachment commander… but I was able to work the road as a front-line sergeant to get a feel for the community for 2014-15 and 16, and I was building relationships.

“And my goal was to leave with all of the shelves fully stocked. Morale is great at the detachment; the community in a safe place. So I’m kind of finishing the way I wanted to. I’ve got about 52 days left, (from the media event in March) but who’s counting?” he chuckled. “I’m not counting the days. I want to make the days count, so I’m going to put my heart and soul into this next detachment action plan.”

Those who wish to share opinion and feedback for the 2026-2029 PEC OPP Detachment Action Plan can email Opp.Prince.Edward@opp.ca

Council meets at 7 p.m. Tuesday night. It is available to watch on the County’s YouTube page.