Inspector Ken McCulloch announced his retirement with the Saugeen Shores Police Service August 23.

Hub Staff

"It's hard to believe, it's gone by so quick," said soon to be retired Inspector Ken McCulloch with the Saugeen Shores Police Service.

McCulloch announced his retirement at a media event August 23. He got his start in 1986 in Port Elgin and stayed with the force through amalgamation to the eventual Saugeen Shores Police Service. By his recollection he has been Sergeant since 2003 and became Inspector in 2006. He has worked with four chiefs, Paul Brown, Dave Preston, Dan Rivett and now, Chief Mike Bellai.

"There was nine of us when I started [in 1986], there's 22 officers now and three admin staff," said McCulloch, adding that Sergeant Kevin Zettel will be taking over the role of Inspector. "He'll be great," he said.

McCulloch said he will maintain a connection to his colleagues and will hold the title of Special Constable. "We have a couple of Special Constable positions that are on a part time, as needed basis that we can call in for guarding at the hospital or prisoner escorts and things like that where we don't necessarily need a regular police constable for," he said.

While he said he has a bit of regret that he won't have a chance to move into the new headquarters, McCulloch said he's been thinking of retiring since he hit the 30 year mark. "I'd thought all along that I would go to the 30 years and then that'll be it and then I just kind of kept putting that off," he said, adding that when former Chief Dan Rivett announced his retirement in 2017, McCulloch decided to stick around a little longer and provide a bit of a turnover for the new chief.

McCulloch said he has seen "huge" changes in the last 32 years, the most notable of which is technology. "When I started in '86 we didn't even have a computer. I think it was 1988 before we got a computer at the office," he said.

McCulloch said that he always wanted to be a police officer and helping people was the most enjoyable part of the job. "I'm really proud of the fact that through the years we've been able to maintain the local police service when there's so many other areas that are getting away from that," he added.

"I think we've done a great job of keeping the costs low and giving the training to our members so that we can provide that service and be able to keep it local," he said, adding that one of the most difficult things has been to deal with accidents and sudden deaths. "When you're in an area like this a lot of the times those are either people you know or you know their families so it makes it even more difficult in a small town," he said.

McCulloch said he doesn't have any big plans for his retirement. "I'm kind of looking forward to the free time and I have a lot of projects at home that I've been putting off that will keep me busy for a while," he said.

McCulloch's last day is Thursday, August 30.