Police Service Board Highlights

Throughout 2025, the Board continued to enhance its visibility in order to foster and nurture community trust and confidence in our Police Service. By actively participating in numerous meetings and events, and engaging with a broad range of perspectives, the Board was well positioned to set policing priorities and objectives, develop policies and budgets, and evaluate whether the community’s policing needs are being met. All eight local municipal councils received a presentation from the Board during 2025. The presentations highlighted the responsibilities of the Board, changes and pressures imposed upon the Board and the Service under the Community Safety and Policing Act, current areas of focus for the Board, and operational priorities related to community safety and the Board’s Strategic Plan. The Board also met with local MPPs during the course of 2025 to advocate on issues such as Provincial funding and bail reform, and outlined operational challenges related firearms, auto theft, mental health and addictions, frauds and scams, intimate partner violence and human trafficking. The Board also convened meetings with community groups including the Durham Children’s Aid Society, the Community Development Council of Durham, PFLAG Durham Region, Dnaagdawenmag Binnoojiiyag Child & Family Services, as well as the Durham Region Anti-Racism Task Force. These meetings supported the objective of enhancing community trust, and allowed the Board to communicate its current priorities while supporting improved understanding of the concerns and perspectives of diverse stakeholders.

After three years on the Board, Mark Welch’s term came to an end in 2025. Mr. Welch’s contributions to deliberations and decisions – in particular on matters related to finance, leadership, and equity and diversity – enabled the Board to make important progress in advancing its governance and oversight agenda. His perspectives were always informed by respectful attentiveness to the views of others and his own meticulous analyses. We extend our gratitude to Mr. Welch for his service to the Board and the community during an important period for policing in our Region.