POLICE, ROTARY SHARE VISION

Provincial police and Rotary Club members have more in common than
you might think.

OPP Deputy Commissioner Chris Lewis said as much during a speech to
Rotary Club of Barrie-Huronia members at their weekly meeting, Tuesday.

Lewis said OPP officers and Rotary members have similar views of the world.

"We both value dedication and commitment. We both work to make other
people's lives better and safer," he said, adding that Rotarians
perform service "not for themselves, but for others. The OPP wants to
hire people who also want to give back to the community."

Lewis thanked the club members for their "selfless contributions" to
the community.

"We (Rotarians and the police) can't forget the people who are out
there struggling and we have to help them," he said. "You'll be
remembered for how you treat people, not for the expertise you gather
over time."

He said the OPP has a strong presence in the community.

"There are 1,100 of us up the road in Orillia and a lot of people
right in the Barrie area," said Lewis, who lives in the Craighurst
area and is a friend of Barrie Police Chief Wayne Frechette, who used
to work for the OPP.

Lewis is a member of the campaign cabinet for the United Way of
Greater Simcoe County and chairs the Ontario Association of Chiefs of
Police Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics committee.

Lewis, who has more than 31 years of policing experience with the
OPP, presently oversees the operational activities of five OPP
regions, as well as the Aboriginal Policing Bureau and about 4,500 personnel.

He spoke of the changes in society the force has witnessed since its
creation in 1909.

"My first posting was in Kapuskasing and I never thought I'd see
things like (marijuana) grow-ops," he said.

OPP Commissioner Julian Fantino has taken on highway traffic safety
"in a big way" and the changes are apparent, Lewis said.

"We're saving lives and reducing the number of people being injured
and killed, and reducing the grief of families," he said. "Fatalities
are down, impaired driving charges are down, again, and we are
looking harder for impaired drivers than we ever have."

Lewis said a lot of gangs and members of organized crime are moving
into new areas and not just the cities.

"The problem is everywhere, including rural Ontario. Organized crime
affects us all," he said, adding that Canada is known for growing
some of the most potent marijuana in the world.

"Most of it is exported to the U.S. and comes back (in return) as
cocaine or guns," he said.

Barrie-Huronia Rotary members made a contribution in Lewis' name to
Rotary's commitment of eradicating polio around the world.