It's 7 p.m. on a Saturday night in Collingwood and Const. Keith Chadwick is four hours into his 12-hour shift.

Chadwick is a member of the Collingwood OPP and has been a police officer for six years, two of them in Collingwood.

He spent four years with the Nottawasaga OPP and says he wanted to be a police officer since he was in high school.

"It's an active job; no day is ever the same," says the 27-year-old officer.

As a member of the Emergency Response Team (ERT), Chadwick not only carries his standard handgun, but also a taser. His new black and white OPP SUV is also armed with other weapons including long guns. As an ERT member, he can be involved in canine searches and witness protection.

"We have tasers. It's a good use of force tool that everyone should have," he says.

"We (ERT members) can be called anywhere in the province."

On this night Chadwick, and his colleagues are working a 3 p.m. to 3 a.m. shift, which is led by 30-year veteran Sgt. Bob Gallacher.

Two officers will be assigned to Collingwood, two to the Town of the Blue Mountains and Chadwick will be floating between the two municipalities.

Gallacher will also be on the road.

"I try to be (on the road) as much as I can," Gallacher says as he loads his handgun and long gun, tests his taser and gets into his cruiser.

At 7:30 p.m., Chadwick stops a woman on Napier St., in Collingwood who was driving without any headlights. Routine traffic stops can be anything but routine. In this case it was an inadvertent mistake.

"Traffic stops are huge," he said. "We don't know if there is any weapons in the vehicle."

Chadwick tells a story of how he made a traffic stop near Alliston and the man in the car immediately put his hands out the window, as to say, "I have no weapons."

"Nobody ever thinks about our safety," he says.

Chadwick said traffic stops are a part of the job and says a lot of speeding in Collingwood happens on Huron Street, a four-lane thoroughfare connecting Pretty River Parkway and First Street.

When it comes to traffic stops, he said he likely won't stop a lot of cars unless they are going 20 km/h over the limit.

"You would be stopping cars all day for 10 km/h over," he said.

In his two years in Collingwood, Chadwick has seen a lot, including drug raids, a near riot at local pub and the November murder of a Collingwood man where he was the first officer on the scene.

But there is also a lot of crime that flies under the radar in the area, he says. Collingwood has a major problem with drugs, especially crack.

As he patrols through Collingwood streets, he points out popular drug-dealing hotspots.

"People don't know what is going on in their own town."

It's about 8 p.m. and Chadwick stops in at the Village of Blue Mountain to do some patrol.

He says he's looking for open containers of alcohol, anyone that appears to be drunk and anyone causing a disturbance.

He feels that the Village doesn't get enough attention.

"It's only a matter of time before someone brings a gun to a punch-up," Chadwick says.

About eight young men are carrying a six-pack of beer in a bag and Chadwick walks behind looking to ensure that none of the bottles are open. Two of the young men appeared to be nervous and look over their shoulders at least three times to check what the officer is doing.

Chadwick says it's important that he always keeps his eyes peeled for potential problems.

Back in the car, he does a drive through Tyrolean Village, an area that has a number of rental chalets.

Passersby can see in the windows and it's clear that many of the chalets are rented by young people who are holding parties.

As he pulls up to one chalet, six people are on a deck with beer bottles in their hands. This is a concern to Chadwick.

"Places like these are risky. Every one of those bottles is a potential weapon," he said.

At about 9 p.m., he swings by Collingwood's Royal Canadian Legion, which is holding its Green Beer Day festival. Out back, he sees three males smoking - one of them looks to be stumbling, so Chadwick decides to see what is going on.

"We're not driving home," says one.

"Good choice," Chadwick responds.

Another man is slurring his speech and having trouble standing. He is talking loudly and Chadwick tells them it's time to get back inside.

He says he is going to stay outside for a little bit longer, but Chadwick doesn't feel that's a good idea.

"Either you are going inside or coming with me," he says.

For the moment, the man acquiesces.

Along Ontario Street, Chadwick spots a couple walking. He recognizes them quickly and pulls up.

He says they were involved in an incident at a local watering hole last year and were released on the condition that they wouldn't drink alcohol.

Chadwick says he can arrest them on the spot but he opts to pursue charges later, likely through a summons.

At 9:45, Chadwick spots four men standing around a vehicle on the side of the road at the corner of Market and Hume streets.

He gets out to see what the story is and asks all of them for their identification.

One, is loud and boisterous and Chadwick asks if he has been drinking. The man said he hasn't and because of a medical condition, he can't drink alcohol.

"I smell it on your breath," Chadwick says.

As he gets back in the car, the officer contemplates charging him with public intoxication.

"He's fixing to get himself arrested," Chadwick said. "You give somebody a warning and they want to push that further and further."

Chadwick warns the man and tells him to be on his way.

As he's talking to the group, one of the men inadvertently locks the keys to his car in his trunk.

Chadwick decides to give the man a lift to Wasaga Beach to get his spare set of keys.

Travelling back to Collingwood along Hwy. 26, a vehicle veers into the wrong lane and Chadwick pulls a man over. He notes a licence plate light bulb is not working.

"I smelled pot in the car," he says after speaking with the driver.

The officer says the driver told him he does smoke pot in the car, but didn't on this night. Chadwick says he appreciates the honesty and says it goes a long way with him.

"I probably won't take it further," he says.

Chadwick says he doesn't like attitude, or people lying to him.

"It makes you want to push the issue," he says. "(But) it's not a benefit for us to be heavy-handed all the time.

On the way back into Collingwood, the dispatcher asks officers to report to an east-end apartment, where a neighbour called in a complaint about there being no food in the home for the children.

Three officers respond to the call. Chadwick says the mother has been drinking, a male is passed out, surrounded by beer bottles, and the children are trying to open a can of soup to eat.

He said these situations are child welfare issues, but officers do have the power to take the kids away if they feel they are in danger.

"This was just short of that threshold," he says. "The place was disgusting."

Chadwick says the police will ask the Children's Aid Society to come to the residence to check things out.

Chadwick does another patrol at The Village at Blue Mountains but, in spite of the fact that it's a March Break weekend, everything seems to be in order.

"I'm surprised there wasn't more calls for service," he said. "I like to be busy."