Durham Regional Police

The Durham Regional Police Service (DRPS) is the police service operated by and serving the Regional Municipality of Durham, Ontario, Canada. The force serves the following local municipalities, with a combined population of 706,200.

* Pickering
* Oshawa
* Whitby
* Ajax
* Clarington
* Scugog
* Brock
* Uxbridge

The DRPS and York Regional Police are the only two police forces in the Greater Toronto Area with air support.

The DRPS was formed in 1974 through the amalgamation of a number of local police forces in the area, coinciding with the establishment of the Regional Municipality of Durham.

In late May 2019, after a request by the Ministry of the Solicitor General (Ontario), the Ontario Civilian Police Commission issued an order that appointed a retired Toronto deputy chief, Mike Federico, as administrator to oversee the force during the OCPC investigation after some of the senior ranks were alleged to have been corrupt and of an abuse of power. As of May 24, 2019, none of the allegations had been proven. Federico’s responsibilities were to include "approving promotions and overseeing all internal discipline". The allegations were first brought to light in an April 19 report in the Toronto Star; at the time, a lawyer representing Chief Paul Martin said the allegations are "false and defamatory". Martin announced on 9 July 2020 that he would be retiring from the Service effective September 2020.

Organization

Durham Regional Police Service is led by:

*Interim Chief of Police Todd Rollauer
*Interim Deputy Chief Joe Mariano (operations)
*Deputy Chief Dean Bertrim (operational support)
*Chief Administrative Officer Stan MacLellan
*
Deputy Chief Todd Rollauer was announced as Interim Chief of Police (effective September 12, 2020) following the retirement of Chief of Police Paul Martin. A search for a new Chief of Police is on-going.

Durham Regional Police Headquarters is in Whitby, Ontario at the Regional Municipality of Durham Headquarters building. Budgeted expenditures for DRPS in Durham Region's 2020 budget were $241.4 million

In October 2008, the Durham Regional Police Service was named one of "Canada's Top 100 Employers" by Mediacorp Canada Inc. and was featured in ''Maclean's'' newsmagazine. Later that month, it was also named one of Greater Toronto's Top Employers, which was announced by the ''Toronto Star'' newspaper.

Durham Regional Police is a member of OALEP.

Police senior officers

The day-to-day and regional operations are commanded by senior officers:

*Deputy Chief
*Superintendent
*Inspector
* Civilian directors and managers

Police officers

*Detective / Staff Sergeant
*Detective / Sergeant
*Detective Constable
*Senior Constable
*Constable - 1st class
*Constable - 2nd class
*Constable - 3rd class
*Constable - 4th class
*Special Constables

Operational support units

In 2014, the Durham Regional Police Service had an authorized strength of 871 sworn members and 331 civilians.

Some of the units within the force are:

* Air support unit
* Auxiliary unit (auxiliary constable)
* Canine unit
* Case management unit
* Central cellblock unit
* Communications-911 unit
* Community services unit
* Corporate communications unit
* Courts unit
* Crime analysis unit
* Diversity unit
* Domestic violence investigative unit
* Drug enforcement unit
* E-crimes unit
* Emergency measures/labour liaison unit
* Explosive disposal unit
* Facilities management unit
* Financial services unit
* Firearms unit
* Fleet services unit
* Forensic identification unit
* Fraud unit
* Freedom of information unit
* Gun and gang unit
* General occurrence auditing unit
* Health, wellness and safety unit
* Homicide unit
* Hostage negotiators
* Human resources unit
* Information technology unit
* Legal services unit
* Marine unit
* Major incident command
* Mental health unit
* Offender management unit
* Patrol support unit
* Polygraph unit
* Prisoner transport unit
* Professional standards unit
* Property unit
* Public order unit
* Quality assurance unit
* Regional youth unit
* Robbery unit
* Records unit
* Senior support unit
* Sexual assault and child abuse unit
* Strategic planning unit
* Surveillance unit
* Tactical support unit
* Technical services section
* Threat assessment unit
* Traffic services branch
* Victim services unit
* Volunteer unit
* Warrant liaison unit

Policing divisions

The force is organized into several divisions

* West Division - Serving Ajax and Pickering
* Central West Division - Serving Whitby and Western Oshawa
* Central East Division - Serving Oshawa
* East Division - Serving Clarington, Oshawa and Scugog
* North Division - Serving Brock, Scugog and Uxbridge

Durham Regional Police is one of two Greater Toronto Area police forces with air capability with York Regional Police (excluding Ontario Provincial Police).

Some vehicles bear the motto "Leaders in Community Safety".

Uniform

The DRPS crest is used on vehicles, headgear and uniforms, and consists of St. Edward's Crown over a round blue shield with the legend "Durham Regional Police" in white, encircling a red maple leaf overlaid with gold scales of justice. The crest is based on that of the former City of Oshawa police department, with the maple leaf and scales replacing the city's coat of arms.

Officers are issued Glock .40 caliber pistols.

Tactical support unit

TSU is responsible for handling dangerous situations not handled by regular uniformed officers. The Durham Regional Police TSU also has a mutual-aid agreement with the York Regional Police Emergency Response Unit. In the event of a large-scale event, or a callout that could take a significant amount of time, both departments provide assistance to one another.

Marine unit

The marine unit is responsible for the enforcement of three bodies of water in the region Lake Ontario, Lake Scugog, and Lake Simcoe the area of and around Beaverton, Thorah Island and parts of the Trent-Severn Waterway. Members of the marine unit are specially trained for marine enforcement and rescue duties, including ice rescue. The unit is attached to the traffic enforcement unit.

The Durham Regional Police Marine Unit also has a mutual aid agreement with the Toronto Police, for Lake Ontario as well as side-scan sonar and ROV. and with the York Regional Police for Lake Simcoe as well as side-scan sonar and diver services. In the event of a large-scale event, or a call-out that could take a significant amount of manpower, these police services provide mutual assistance to one another.

The Marine Unit consists of one officer, active during the summer months. Durham Police do not patrol the water ways during the off season and winter months.

Additional SAR support provided b
PARA-Marine Search and Rescue
Canadian Coast Guard and Canadian Forces 424 Squadron (air support from CFB Trenton).

Equipment

* a 26-foot Zodiac RHIB (2011) with two 200 hp Mercury outboard engines - transported by trailer to Lake Scugog and Lake Simcoe
* a 34-foot Hike Metal Products patrol with two 260 hp supercharged diesel Volvo engines, search and rescue vessel (2004) - named "David Edwards"

See also

Durham Regional Police is part of Durham Region's Emergency Services and works with:

* Durham Region EMS
* Fire Services in Durham Region
PARA-Marine Search and Rescue

*

References

External links

Durham Regional Police Service

{{Law enforcement agencies in Canada

Law enforcement agencies of Ontario
Regional Municipality of Durham
Whitby, Ontario