Niagara Regional Police Service

Niagara Regional Police Service

Logo of the Niagara Regional Police Service
Motto Unity, Loyalty, Responsibility
Agency overview
Formed January 1, 1971
Legal personality Governmental: Government agency
Jurisdictional structure
General nature
Operational structure
Headquarters Niagara Falls, Ontario
Sworn members 650
Unsworn members 350
Elected officer responsible The Honourable Madeleine Meilleur, Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services
Agency executive Jeff McGuire, Chief of Police
Facilities
Divisions 6
Website
Official website

The Niagara Regional Police Service (NRPS) provides policing services for the Regional Municipality of Niagara in the Canadian province of Ontario.

NRPS was established on January 1, 1971 and is the oldest regional police service in Ontario. Its headquarters is located in Niagara Falls, Ontario.

Organization

The NRPS provides all general policing duties in the region, including patrol of municipal/regional roads and waterways within the region, including the Welland Canal, the Niagara River and Lakes Ontario and Erie. Patrol of provincial highways in the region, such as the Queen Elizabeth Way, is handled by the Ontario Provincial Police, while patrol services on Niagara Parks Commission property is handled by the Niagara Parks Police Service. The NRPS is, however, mandated to investigate all major crimes in the region, including those that occur on provincial highways or on NPC property.

Police Chiefs

Ranks & Insignia

Districts

The Niagara Regional Police Service is divided into six districts:

Headquarters and Administrative offices are located at 5700 Valley Way, Niagara Falls, Ontario. Auxiliary and support services are located on Cushman Road in St. Catharines.

Units

The Niagara Regional Police Service is broken down into units of specific responsibility. Some of these units include

Crest

Fleet

A partial list of the Niagara Regional Police's fleet consists of the following:

Make Origin In service Notes
Dodge Charger  Canada 2006–Present Photo
Dodge Magnum  Canada 2006–Present Photo
Ford Taurus  United States 2002–Present Photo
Chevrolet Impala  Canada 2002–Present Photo
Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor  Canada 1998–Present Photo
Ford Freestar RIDE vehicle  Canada 2005–Present Photo
Chrysler PT Cruiser community/education vehicle  Mexico 2003–2005 Photo
Chevrolet Tahoe  United States Photo
Ford F350  United States Photo
Ford Expedition  United States Photo
Ford Explorer  United States Photo
Jeep Cherokee  United States Photo
Dodge Polara  United States 1970s Retired, Photo
Chevrolet Caprice  Canada 1970s-1998 Retired

Following changes to the Ontario Highway Traffic Act in August 2007, the Niagara Regional Police Service began replacing red and white "Street Hawk" emergency lights on police vehicles with new blue and red LED lights. Older-style light bars were gradually phased out through attrition.

Niagara Regional Police Service marked patrol vehicles have historically been white in colour. In the late 1980s - early 1990's, they were distinguished with royal blue hoods and a single blue stripe on the sides of the vehicle. In the mid 1990s, the Service adopted the crest used today, switching to blue and green stripes on the sides of patrol vehicles, and abandoning the traditional blue hoods. This striping change was relatively short lived, with the Service soon adopting red and blue striping more commonly seen on police vehicles in Ontario. In 2013, the Niagara Regional Police Service commenced a dramatic re-branding of marked patrol vehicles, adopting a black and white colour scheme, with silver and red graphics, which is being phased in as vehicles are replaced through attrition.

Niagara Regional Police Service Pipes and Drums

The Niagara Regional Police Pipe Band is a grade three pipe band based in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada.

The band's Pipe Major is Peter MacKenzie.

There was a grade 2 pipe band in existence until the end of the 2009 Season, led by Dave Goodall (Pipe Major) and Graham Kirkwood (Drum Sergeant), however, that group dissolved in Fall of 2009.

Niagara Regional Police Service Male Chorus

The Niagara Regional Police Service Male Chorus was formed in 1996 with the encouragement of the then Chief Grant Waddell to celebrate the force's twenty-fifth anniversary. With the sponsorship of Chief Waddell they were granted the right to perform, with distinctive pride, wearing the uniform of the Niagara Regional Police Service with flashes identifying them as their Male Chorus.

Under the musical direction of Dr Tom Inglis citizen volunteers, recruited from males over eighteen years of age, who like to sing, quickly established a reputation for excellence. In consequence from Police Memorial Services in both Ottawa and Toronto to such well known venues as Roy Thompson Hall, 100 Huntley Street, the People's Church, the World Rowing Championships and the USA/Canada Buffalo/Fort Erie Freedom Festival they have entertained on television.

But more importantly for the past fifteen years they have entertained the citizens of Niagara and southern Ontario, whenever asked to raise funds for charity and in churches, senior's homes, recreational halls, County Fairs and Festivals to sometimes standing ovation. They have produced five CD's containing show tunes, pop music medleys, gospel music and hymns that enjoy critical acclaim.

Celebrating its fifteenth year in conjunction with the fortieth year celebrations of the Niagara Regional Police Service the Niagara Regional Police Service Male Chorus continues to seek performance venues and new citizen volunteers to continue their reputation of excellence as they perform for the citizens of Niagara under the musical direction of Barbara Andrus with the full support of the present Chief Wendy Southall.

Niagara Regional Police Mounted Unit

Members of the mounted unit are part of the Force's Colour Guard.

There are three horses in the unit with 3 other horses retired. Only two of the three horses are owned by the NRP.

On November 25, 2010 the Niagara Regional Mounted Unit was disbanded for budgetary reasons. The annual budget of $30,000.00 used to care for the horses was redistributed elsewhere.

See also

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/20/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.