By Sean Delaney
Jack Gurr, the new inspector of 31 Division has always wanted to land in 31 Division, and was thrilled when he got the news of his new placement.
Gurr said he’s worked beside 31 Division in the past, and looks forward to contributing to traffic education, as well as efforts to curb violent crime, among his many other duties.
“As you may or may not know, as senior officers we are assigned where command thinks we are needed most in the organization,” Gurr said. “I did request 31 Division a while ago however, so I was ecstatic I was given the direction to come here.”
Gurr spent the previous eight months on a project that began as a result of the war in Gaza. Within it he has been policing protests and leading the community deployment of officers.
“It was time for a change,” he said.
He spent approximately four years from 2019 to the end of 2022 as an officer in 32 division. There, he did quite a bit of work with officers in 31 division and had a wealth of interaction with them.
“I am familiar with the type of issues that have been impacting this division. Violence is a major issue, and traffic enforcement is one of the most important functions a municipal police force can do. Traffic enforcement really does save lives.”
While in 31 Division, Gurr would like an increase in traffic safety, traffic education, for drivers as well as cyclists and pedestrians.
“Distracted driving and impaired driving are an issue, but distracted walking and behaviour is becoming an issue as well.”
Most importantly he said, is for the organization, especially himself as one of the commanders, to interact with the youth. Getting to the youth between that 10-year-old and 16-year-old age and making those connections with them before they go down a wrong path or make bad decisions.
“We need to get in front of them and have relationship and provide good role modelling so when they are making decisions, they remember the relationship they have with local officers, or friends in the police department who they know by name.”
And Gurr stressed community participation in policing as well.
“It’s very hard for us to respond without knowledge, so it is very important to have a relationship with the public and have them reporting crimes they are seeing. You can do it through our website, as online reporting has been found to be a more efficient system. Go to the website and scroll through the website and see how you can make reports and contribute to a safer community.”