(file photo)
The Ontario Association Chiefs of Police (OACP) is pleased to announce that Constable Tammie Staples of the Port Hope Police Service (PHPS) is the recipient of the 2021 OACP School Resource Officer (SRO) Award of Excellence.
This award is presented in recognition of the accomplishments of a member of a police service who consistently demonstrates outstanding engagement and achievement within their organization and their community in terms of leadership.
Over the last seven years, Constable Staples has become an integral part of the school community in Port Hope in her role as the Community Liaison Officer (School Resource Officer) role. She delivers in-school programs, after school programs and always responds to calls from schools when students are struggling. Constable Staples participates in dozens of committees, boards, schools, and daycare and makes every effort to meet youth and to empower them to succeed.
In addition to her role with the PHPS, Constable Staples created the “Tammie’s Jammies” pajama donation drive that takes place at Christmas time. She has collected hundreds of pairs of pajamas for school kids who are kids in need and provides any surplus to the local women’s shelters.
During Prom season, Constable Staples runs a suit and dress drive to collect nice clothing for local teens that are graduating but have no access to such clothes.
Recently, Constable Staples was involved in a partnership with Northumberland County and joined a social worker who attended local schools to educate youth about the use of cannabis and other drugs, homelessness, couch surfing, and hunger. She is also in local charitable efforts, including one that distributes hundreds of coupons for meals to kids in schools and families in need.
Each week, Constable Staples also runs a youth group drop-in centre where she provides education on bullying, sexting, social media, LGBTQ issues, Covid-19, mental health, dating or whatever the youth feel they want to discuss.
Locally, Constable Staples is recognized as not only a strong advocate for youth, but as a true community leader who cares about everyone she meets and is truly a role model for all youth in our community.
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
