The Peterborough Petes are excited to announce a new community partnership with the Peterborough Police Service.

The initiative, called Petes and C.O.P.S. (Community Oriented Partnerships and Support), will see players on the Petes roster matched with members of the Peterborough Police Service (PPS) Emergency Response Team (ERT), along with other members across multiple sections of the PPS. The ERT members will act as mentors and role models to the players.

As part of the partnership, Petes players and PPS members will together attend community events, visit institutional facilities, and visit with sick and less fortunate community members, among other activities.

“The Petes are very involved in the community, as is our police service,” commented Sergeant Laine Schubert. “Although both have a very positive impact, we feel that cooperatively we can have an even greater impact if we can do some things together.”

“Our motto with ERT is ‘excellence through teamwork’, and we think that that is very appropriate for the Petes as well,” Schubert added. “Like the Petes, the ERT is a team made up of individuals with specific roles and responsibilities that, when performing their best as a team, achieve their common goals.”

PPS members will also be available as additional outlets for the players who, like PPS members, face pressures relative to roles, responsibilities, performance, and teamwork.

“We know that there are many similarities between being a junior hockey player and working in policing, so we believe that this partnership will benefit both the Petes and the Peterborough Police Service,” commented Petes General Manager Mike Oke. “With the Petes and PPS being two of the more visible organizations in Peterborough, this will provide our players with great learning opportunities while engaging with our community members. We look forward to working with the PPS and watching the partnership grow.”