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Cobourg Police Service receives grant for lifesaving equipment

Aug. 31, 2023, Cobourg, Ont. – Cobourg Police Service (CPS) members are now better equipped to handle emergencies and keep the Town of Cobourg safe thanks to a grant from Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation of Canada. The Foundation recognized a critical need and awarded the police service $25,677 to purchase a Can-Am Defender UTV.

On Aug. 31, 2023, members of the Cobourg Police Service and Cobourg Police Services Board joined the Firehouse Sub Cobourg Management Team: Pritvanti Patel, Aadipkumar Pandya, Rohan Tank, Anjali Prajapati, Badal Patel and Meet Patel to announce the grant.

“We are grateful to Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation of Canada and our local Firehouse Subs in the Town of Cobourg for providing us with this grant and positively impacting our community,” said Chief Paul VandeGraaf, Cobourg Police Service. “This grant provides our members with another tool to help keep the citizens of Cobourg safe. We look forward to deploying it in Cobourg, at the parks, beach, and trails.”

The Can-Am Defender UTV will increase visual police presence while ensuring life-saving equipment is available in the UTV truck bed. Victoria Park Beach is at peak occupancy (May to September), and police respond to an average of six to seven missing children calls each weekend. Using the UTV side-by-side will help families find police quickly to facilitate rapid missing person response and coverage of larger areas in a search scenario.

Increased police presence through UTV patrols will reduce calls for vehicle theft, property theft, and public disturbances.

Further, the UTV allows travel over rougher terrain, including sand and off-road scenarios, to access remote locations not accessible by vehicle to reach individuals in physical or mental distress. For instance, CPS responds to an average of six suicide calls annually on or around the train tracks. In most cases, officers must walk on foot, carrying potential life-saving equipment, in steep terrain to attend to the calls wasting valuable time.

The Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation of Canada has awarded 306 grants to public safety organizations since 2015. This grant is one of 22 Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation of Canada awarded to public safety organizations during the most recent grant cycle. The 22 grants will provide critical lifesaving equipment valued at more than $518,000 across Ontario.