Five members of Carleton’s department of university safety, including Director Allan Burns, received the title of special constable from Ottawa’s Police Services Board Jan. 24.
Devon Reeves, Brittany O’Connor, Mark Hargreaves, Christopher Moy and Burns were given a rubber stamp of approval by the
board.
Under the Police Services Act of Ontario, the board must approve Carleton safety officers before they can gain the title of special constable, Burns said.
The process usually takes around a year and provides campus safety officers with increased powers of arrest, Burns said.
“One of the major differences is [that] a police officer can arrest on reasonable and probable grounds . . . special constables have that same power,” he said.
Burns said special constables can arrest under the Criminal Code, the Trespass to Property Act and the Liquor License Act, but not the Highway Traffic Act.
“You won’t see our officers pulling people over . . . and giving speeding tickets,” Burns said, although they may call police.
Burns, who has spent more than 30 years with the Ottawa police, said the special constable status was necessary for him to have the power to make an arrest in the event of an emergency.
Carleton and OC Transpo are the only two agencies in Ottawa with designated special constable status, Burns said, adding there are currently around 10 special constables on campus.
When the five safety officers are sworn in as special constables in a few weeks time, Burns said they would be the first in “awhile,” due to a significant turnover of staff in the last two years.
Campus safety is currently applying to the province for five more university safety officers to receive the special constable status, Burns said.
“That’ll catch us up so [that] all of our people who are qualified are sworn in,” he said. “Then it’s simply a matter of new hires.”