Four new constables welcomed at Stratford police services board meeting

New Stratford Police Service members Const. Garrett James, Const. Colby Bond, Const. Katie Brine and Const. Olivia Chartrand were welcomed with open arms at the Feb. 18 Stratford police services board meeting.

By Amanda Nelson

Four new constables were introduced at last week’s Stratford police services board meeting. All four graduated from the Ontario Police College in December 2025 and have since begun working with Stratford Police Service.

Const. Colby Bond, of Elmira, earned an honours bachelor’s degree from Laurentian University, majoring in human resource management, before obtaining a graduate certificate in advanced police studies from Conestoga College. Bond previously worked as a facility attendant with Woolwich Township.

Const. Katie Brine of St. Marys graduated from Georgia College with a bachelor’s degree in police studies. She previously worked in security at Wildwood Conservation Area.

Const. Garrett James of Stratford graduated from the University of Waterloo with a bachelor’s degree in recreation and leisure studies. He previously worked as a detachment administrative clerk for the Perth County OPP.

Const. Olivia Chartrand of Stratford graduated from the police foundations program at Georgian College. She previously worked at Player Carpentry & Masonry.

“It’s been a really welcoming group,” said Chartrand. “(Stratford Police Service) is a great service to work for and in such a short time, I think we’ve learned a lot and everyone’s very supportive. On behalf of all of us, we can all say that we feel very welcome.”

Mayor Martin Ritsma addressed the group, thanking them for their upcoming service to the community.

“On behalf of the police services board, we certainly are thrilled to have young members join the association and do what we talked about earlier on – serving our community and ensuring its safety. So, thank you very much for doing that.”

Stratford police Chief Greg Skinner addressed recent stigma surrounding policing, noting his gratitude for those who come forward to work for and with their communities.

“The police services have taken a bit of a beating in the media over the last few years, and it’s been very difficult to recruit good candidates to be professional police officers,” he said.

“The OACP has gone on a real recruitment drive to try to enhance the numbers of applicants to police services across the province. I am thrilled that we have such a calibre of candidates who have wanted to stay local, who have wanted to give back to their community and be part of their community. These four are exemplary candidates. I couldn’t be more happy with the level of knowledge, skills and abilities that they’re bringing to the service.”