CORNWALL, Ontario – Cornwall’s new police Chief Danny Aikman says that during his time in office he hopes to promote the safety and wellness of his officers and strengthen ties with the community.
Aikman was sworn in as the new Chief of the Cornwall Community Police Service (CCPS) on Nov. 16. He had previously served as Deputy Chief since 2003.
“I’ll be satisfied if people say Danny Aikman had the best interests of his officers and the community at heart,” said the new Chief in an interview with Seaway News.
One of the first initiatives that Aikman will have to tackle is the implementation of a police wellness program as mandated by the 2018 Safer Ontario Act.
“I want to make sure that our wellness program meets our own unique needs,” he said.
Aikman said that he would be working closely with City of Cornwall administration and council on the implementation of a wellness program for CCPS.
Other focuses for Aikman include ensuring that CCPS continues to operate within their budget and continue to provide the best service possible for the citizens of Cornwall.
“I think that anyone who knows me knows I’m a strong advocate of working within our budget,” he said. “I think we’ve had reasonable success in doing that. We provide a level of service to our community that is above what many other similar size police services are able to provide.”
Aikman pointed to a 45 percent reduction in youth crime over the past 10 years as an example of some of the recent successes of the service. They have also seen a significant reduction in break and enters in Cornwall.
One area of concern is around sexual assaults. Cornwall saw 91 sexual assaults in 2017, a more than 20 percent increase from the year before.
“There has been an increase in sexual assaults after a leveling out and we are investigating why that is,” said Aikman. “We are all working collectively to reduce the instances of sexual assault. The positives are that these numbers show that people are confident that if they report to us, we will investigate.”
Aikman has served with CCPS for 38 years. He was born and raised in Cornwall and attended CCVS. His wife worked for the local school board and he has two kids and two grandchildren.
Aikman was the first officer from within the CCPS to be made Deputy Chief since the 1970s and is the first Chief of CCPS to be from the service since 1974. He hopes to continue that line of succession by promoting strong leadership within the CCPS.
