SPS Building: This isn’t safety, it’s empire-building

To every member of the Police Services Board, and every councillor nodding along: you are complicit. You can stop this now. We can fix the existing building. It needs $4.43 […]

To every member of the Police Services Board, and every councillor nodding along: you are complicit. You can stop this now. We can fix the existing building. It needs $4.43 million in repairs, according to your own consultants. That’s less than one year’s increase to the police budget. If it’s really falling apart, then fund the repairs and move on. But let’s stop pretending the only option is a new multi-acre compound outfitted like an episode of 24.

Mayor Mike Bradley has at least been a voice of reason. He’s raised concerns about the rushed land acquisition, the optics, and the lack of real debate. While most of the board appears starstruck by the chief’s sense of urgency, Bradley has stayed grounded in facts. And the facts are simple. We have a functioning police headquarters that needs repairs, not a replacement palace.

The proposed site for the new building is 15 acres. That’s a dramatic expansion from the current station footprint, and it pushes the facility out of the city core and into a development zone at the eastern edge of town. It’s a strange move for a service meant to be embedded in the community. Instead of being accessible to downtown and walkable neighbourhoods, we’re building them a compound in a field.

Chief Derek Davis is driving this. He’s turned routine maintenance into a long campaign for an empire. Reports were commissioned, assessments were stacked, and now an architect will be under contract. And it’s working — working to convince people this is inevitable. A militarized K9 expansion here, a new fleet vehicle there, and just last month, a quiet $190,000 on night vision goggles. That’s a slap in the face to anyone who wants a safer community rooted in care.

What exactly will this new building change?

Will it reduce crime?

Will it stop overdoses?

Will it finally make us ask: why do we continue to listen to Chief Davis contradict his own reports by militarizing the police rather than investing those resources into mental health support?

Because his own documents say it. Mental health calls are the biggest challenge we face. Not leaking ceilings. Not parking. Not building codes.

And yet:

• Study costs to date – $130,247

• Architect contract – Ventin Group (April 2025) – $41,850

• 2025 budget to initiate new building process – $500,000

Nearly $700,000 spent before a single shovel hits the ground.

There’s a better way. If space is the issue, lease offices. Spread out. Use the buildings we already have. We don’t need a militarized mega-campus to do good policing. We need a system that makes sense, with officers and mental health professionals who are actually in the community — not sitting at desks in a business park.

To the board — Paul Wiersma, Chrissy McRoberts, George Vandenberg, and the rest: where is the leadership? Where is the common sense? Go educate yourselves. Look at what happens to cities that pour their money into gear and intimidation while starving housing, prevention, and mental health response.

And please, for the love of God, why are you squandering the potential of a beautiful town like Sarnia by following the vision of a guy who isn’t from here and whose greatest contribution has been convincing us that what we need most is bigger, stronger, faster police officers with cute dogs to catch the bad guys?

How long are you going to keep licking the boots of the chief, and when are you going to stand up for the community you’re supposed to serve?