Old Ottawa East now has a new community police officer, Constable Matthew Hunt, who replaces the previous community officer, Cst. Khoa Hoang. Photo by Leslie Smith Dow
Constable Matthew Hunt is the new Centretown Community Police officer, responsible for most of Old Ottawa East.
The 34-year-old married father of two was appointed at the end of February. He is still adjusting to his new role.
Hunt worked as a police officer for 12 years, starting with the Durham Regional Police Service where he spent seven years. He joined the Ottawa Police force five years ago and has spent the last three years as a school liaison officer.
During that time, his beat included Immaculata High School, St. Nicholas Adult High School and Lady Evelyn Alternative School.
“I love working with youth,” he said recently.
One of his pet projects is the Youth in Policing Initiative (YIPI), in which high school students receive co-op credits through work terms with the police service, summer job placements and references, all of which can lead to employment.
Hunt has found his experience working with youth to be helpful in the transition to community policing.
His new office on the second floor of Ottawa City Hall has less visibility than the former community police centre location on Somerset Street near Bank. He said he was receiving plenty of telephone calls, but not as many walk-ins as he did in the previous location.
Most people who come to him want to know where to get criminal record checks for work or volunteer opportunities, or have general policing questions. Others want to report and receive help with nuisance behaviour, such as vandalism, grafitti and inappropriate driving.
Hunt is responsible for running the tiny office and the volunteers who assist him. He anticipates spending much of his time in the community, attending functions and becoming acquainted with the concerns of the community.
Hunt will be working on a variety of area projects, such as helping resolve disputes between neighbours and traffic issues. He will liaise with city councillors Diane Holmes and David Chernushenko, whose Somerset and Capital wards intersect with his Centretown beat.
Part of his mandate was to ensure greater police visibility in Sandy Hill for St. Patrick’s Day at the request of many residents. This year’s cold weather helped keep revellers inside and a little more subdued than in 2012 when there were many complaints.
Hunt can be reached at 613.236.1222 extension 5287 or by email at: huntmr@ottawapolice.ca.
He hopes to have a redesigned Facebook page and Twitter account up and running soon. He encourages any resident downtown to stop by for a chat.
He is always eager to hear about community issues, complaints and ideas to engage youth and the entire community. He will even attend a community event if he can.
