FOI request shows Barrie police spent $60K to build 'Rescue 1'

Barrie police say they have the armour to deal with dangerous, high-risk situations.

And the city police department's armoured rescue vehicle (ARV) seen at crime scenes has cost less than $100,000 to buy, build and maintain since it was purchased in 2016.

A Freedom of Information (FOI) request made by BarrieToday shows the ARV was initially owned by Bruce Nuclear, then purchased by Waterloo Regional Police Service, which stripped it down and sold it to Barrie police for $5,000.

The Barrie police fleet unit then built what is referred to as Rescue 1, using the stripped vehicle. It was on the road in December 2016.

The total cost of making Rescue 1 was $59,513.43 — including the $5,000 purchase price.

During the past seven years, Barrie city police has spent approximately $38,000 on the ARV for repairs, annual licensing and maintenance, making the total cost to this point $97,513.43.

BarrieToday obtained this information through an access to information request, through the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

In the FOI document, Barrie police said that due to retention schedules, there is no record of a breakdown of where the money came from, to purchase and build Rescue 1.

Barrie police did not respond to a request to explain retention schedules.

Barrie police communications co-ordinator Peter Leon previously said the number of times Rescue 1 has been deployed, the circumstances involved and how it is equipped are considered operational issues and not public information.

“The Barrie Police Service can say that the deployment of this vehicle is done in response to the very specific incidents, which include high-risk incidents, that involve greater potential for loss of life,” he said, “and primarily is an asset that can be used to safely and effectively manage dangerous hostage-taking or armed and barricaded person calls which may arise within our city.”

Rescue 1 was seen in late September when heavily armed Barrie police tactical officers raided a home on Huronia Road in the city's south end.

Officers were seen brandishing shields and weapons there as well. Police seized a metalworking lathe, various other tools and several evidence bags containing smaller items.

Also in September, the Chatham-Kent Police Service unveiled its new ARV, which had been donated by London-based General Dynamics Land Systems. It’s not armed and has no offensive capabilities, but is strictly defensive in nature.

Chatham-Kent's ARV weighs seven tonnes, is 6.4 metres long, just more than 2.7 metres wide and 2.63 metres high. The all-wheel-drive ARV has huge specialty tires and can provide cover for as many as 10 people, while reaching speeds of 100 kilometres per hour.

Chatham-Kent Police Chief Gary Conn said the ARV won't need to be used often. Police normally get serious calls where it would be required three to four times a year, but Conn said it could prove “invaluable” in high-risk situations, such as weapon incidents or in extreme weather.

Used by the United States military in Iraq and Afghanistan, ARVs range in price from $750,000 to $1 million.

It has cost Chatham-Kent police $50,000 to refurbish the vehicle, including a full paint job. The new ARV replaces a 32-year-old vehicle used by the service that has reached end-of-life. It will be kept for training purposes.

— With files by Pam Wright (Local Journalism Initiative) and Kevin Lamb (BarrieToday)