After 32 years of service, Saugeen Shores Police Inspector Ken McCulloch is ready to retire.
McCulloch is truly a ‘Bruce County boy’. He was born in Saugeen Township, went to Saugeen District Secondary School and started on the local police force as a young constable in Port Elgin in 1986.
“When I started, we didn’t have computers and everything had to be written by hand and filed,” says McCulloch. “Technology has been the biggest change. It has enabled us to search things a lot easier and quicker and it’s allowed more transfer of information between the various police services.”
When asked why he chose police work, McCulloch says it was just something he always wanted to do. “It’s been a really great career where there’s been lots of opportunity to help people and I’ve been fortunate that I could have a career in the town that I grew up in.”
Over his career, McCulloch has worked under four police chiefs. “I’ve been really lucky to have worked with the Chiefs that I did and to learn from them.”
Among the most rewarding parts of the job for McCulloch has been the ability to help people. “I’m also really proud that through the years we’ve been able to maintain a local police service when there have so many communities that have gone another way when it comes to policing.”
Like any police service, some of the most difficult parts are dealing with accidents and deaths. McCulloch points out that it is “… particularly difficult in a smaller community where you either know the person involved or the family.”
While he’s retiring from full-time active duty, McCulloch says that he will be staying on as a special constable and will volunteer whenever needed.
McCulloch’s last official day is August 30th.
