The Niagara Regional Police Service (NRPS) provides policing services for the

Regional Municipality of Niagara The Regional Municipality of Niagara, also colloquially known as the Niagara Region or Region of Niagara, is a regional municipality comprising twelve municipalities of Southern Ontario, Canada. The regional seat is in Thorold. It is the southern ...

in the Canadian province of

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. The NRPS was established on January 1, 1971, and is the oldest

regional police Regional police are multijurisdictional police forces which cover at least two administrative divisions. Canada In Canada, there are three main types of regional police force. There are those that are operated by regional municipalities in the pr ...

service in Ontario. Its headquarters is located in

Niagara Falls, Ontario Niagara Falls is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is on the western bank of the Niagara River in the Golden Horseshoe region of Southern Ontario, with a population of 88,071 at the 2016 census. It is part of the St. Catharines - Niagara Census M ...

Organization

The NRPS provides all general policing duties in the region, including patrol of municipal and regional roads and waterways within the region, including the

Welland Canal The Welland Canal is a ship canal in Ontario, Canada, connecting Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. It forms a key section of the St. Lawrence Seaway and Great Lakes Waterway. Traversing the Niagara Peninsula from Port Weller in St. Catharines t ...

, the

Niagara River The Niagara River () is a river that flows north from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. It forms part of the border between the province of Ontario in Canada (on the west) and the state of New York (state), New York in the United States (on the east) ...

and lakes

and

Erie Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 a ...

. Patrol of provincial highways in the region, such as the

Queen Elizabeth Way The Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) is a 400-series highway in the Canadian province of Ontario linking Toronto with the Niagara Peninsula and Buffalo, New York. The freeway begins at the Peace Bridge in Fort Erie and travels around the western ...

, is handled by the

Ontario Provincial Police The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) is the provincial police service of Ontario, Canada. Under its provincial mandate, the OPP patrols provincial highways and waterways, protects provincial government buildings and officials, patrols unincorpo ...

, while patrol services on

Niagara Parks Commission The Niagara Parks Commission, commonly shortened to Niagara Parks, is an agency of the Government of Ontario which maintains the Ontario shoreline of the Niagara River. History The Commission was founded in 1885 and charged with preserving and ...

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

* Albert E. Shennan January 1, 1971 - May 31, 1977 * Donald Harris May 31, 1977 - December 31, 1983 * James A. Gayder January 1, 1984 - March 4, 1987 * John E. Shoveller August 31, 1987 - March 1, 1993 * J. Grant Waddell March 1, 1993 - 2000 * Gary E. Nicholls August 11, 2000 - January 1, 2005 * Wendy E. Southall January 1, 2005 - June 18, 2012 * Jeffrey McGuire June 18, 2012 – July 14, 2017 * Bryan MacCulloch July 14, 2017

Ranks and insignia

Districts

The Niagara Regional Police Service is divided into six districts: * 1 District - 198 Welland Avenue, St. Catharines * 2 District - 5700 Valley Way,

Niagara Falls Niagara Falls () is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the border between the province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York in the United States. The largest of the three is Horseshoe Falls, ...

* 3 District - 5 Lincoln Street West,

Welland Welland is a city in the Regional Municipality of Niagara in Southern Ontario, Canada. As of 2021, it had a population of 55,750. The city is in the centre of Niagara and located within a half-hour driving distance to Niagara Falls, Niagara-o ...

* 5 District - 650 Gilmore Road,

Fort Erie Fort Erie is a town on the Niagara River in the Niagara Region, Ontario, Canada. It is directly across the river from Buffalo, New York, and is the site of Old Fort Erie which played a prominent role in the War of 1812. Fort Erie is one of Ni ...

* 6 District - 501 Fielden Avenue,

Port Colborne Port Colborne is a city in Ontario, Canada that is located on Lake Erie, at the southern end of the Welland Canal, in the Niagara Region of Southern Ontario. The original settlement, known as Gravelly Bay, dates from 1832 and was renamed afte ...

* 8 District - 45 Clarke Street,

Grimsby Grimsby or Great Grimsby is a port town and the administrative centre of North East Lincolnshire, Lincolnshire, England. Grimsby adjoins the town of Cleethorpes directly to the south-east forming a conurbation. Grimsby is north-east of Linco ...

* Emergency Services - St. Catharines 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 * Auxiliary police * Canine * Child abuse * Court services * Community Engagement * District detective offices * Domestic violence * Emergency task (ETU) * Explosives disposal (EDU) * Forensic services * Central fraud * "Guns, Gangs and Grows" * Homicide * Marine *

Morality Morality () is the differentiation of intentions, decisions and actions between those that are distinguished as proper (right) and those that are improper (wrong). Morality can be a body of standards or principles derived from a code of cond ...

* Policy and risk management * Polygraph * Professional standards * Sexual assault * Special investigative services * Traffic Enforcement Unit * District street crime * Collision reconstruction * Underwater search and recovery * Uniform patrol officers * Victim services / youth crime

Crest

St. Edward's Crown St Edward's Crown is the centrepiece of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom. Named after Saint Edward the Confessor, versions of it have traditionally been used to crown English and British monarchs at Coronation of the British monarch, the ...

* ribbon containing the words ''Unity, Responsibility, Loyalty'' * the shield contains: ** a golden St. Edward's Crown ** two symbols with waves representing the

* wreath of golden maple leaves * Trillium of Ontario

Fleet

A partial list of the Niagara Regional Police's fleet consists of the following: 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 A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor Electronics, device that Light#Light sources, emits light when Electric current, current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy i ...

lights. Older-style

light bar Emergency vehicle lighting, also known as simply emergency lighting or emergency lights, is a type of Automotive lighting, vehicle lighting used to visually announce a vehicle's presence to other road users. A sub-type of emergency vehicle equip ...

s were gradually phased out through attrition. Niagara Regional Police Service marked patrol vehicles have historically been white in colour. In the late 1980s to the early 1990s, 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 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.

Pipes and Drums Band

The Niagara Regional Police Pipe Band is a grade three

pipe band A pipe band is a musical ensemble consisting of Bagpipes, pipers and drummers. The term pipes and drums, used by military pipe bands is also common. The most common form of pipe band consists of a section of pipers playing the Great Highland b ...

based in Niagara Falls. The band's

pipe major The pipe major is the leading musician of a pipe band, whether military or civilian. Like the appointment of drum major, the position is derived from British Army traditions. During the early twentieth century, the term sergeant piper was used ...

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.

Male Chorus

The Niagara Regional Police Male Chorus was formed in 1996 with the encouragement of Chief Grant Waddell to celebrate the force's twenty-fifth anniversary. With the sponsorship of Chief Waddell they were granted the right to perform. The Niagara Regional Police Male Chorus, facing reduced numbers, was disbanded in 2011.

Mounted Unit

Members of the mounted unit are part of the force's colour guard. There are three horses in the unit with three other horses retired. 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.

Marine Unit

Because crime and the need for assistance aren't limited to land, the Niagara Regional Police Service's Marine Unit provides policing to the lakes and waterways of the Niagara Region. They conduct general patrol duties in parts of Lake Ontario, Lake Erie, the Niagara River, and other water sanctuaries within or bordering the Niagara Region. Officers in the Marine Unit enforce the Criminal Code, Narcotic, and Liquor Licence Act offences in addition to marine and navigation laws. The Marine Unit also assists in search and rescue/search and recovery operations when required. In doing so, they work with other units within the Niagara Regional Police Service, other police services and agencies related to maritime safety or the judicial process.

Dive Unit

The mandate of the Underwater Search & Recovery Unit Diver Unit (USRU) is to extend the police function underwater with a cost effective, highly trained and equipped underwater forensic response that meets the needs of the service, the citizens of Niagara and our contracted partners. The underwater capability must be as forensically and professionally reliable as police duties that are executed on land, and meet the legislated competency requirements prescribed by CSA Z275.4-02 Competency Standard for Diving Operations. All USRU members must be sworn police officers and certified divers before they can apply to the team. Candidates are put through a challenging Phase I: Diver Selection week where they complete a variety of tests including: basic diving knowledge; watermanship and stamina; claustrophobia and skills assessments. This selection program ensures all the applicants have the aptitude to take part in this unique form of commercial diving. Successful candidates then complete six weeks of qualification training based on CSA Standards to develop the requisite knowledge, skills and experience to eventually challenge a formal external audit process prescribed by the Diver Certification Board of Canada (DCBC). The USRU assists in the forensic recovery of human remains, SCUBA fatalities, vehicle, vessel, air crash investigations, and weapons recovery. All members are certified in harbour clearing, hull searching and explosives recognition. Two members are trained in underwater explosives disposal and improvised explosive device render safe. Since 1998, Niagara’s eight-person USRU has provided search and recovery services for the Waterloo Regional Police Service on a 24/7 contract basis. Officers are also trained in ice rescue and swift water rescue.

Members Killed in the Line of Duty

Since its founding, the NRPS has lost seven of its officers in the line of duty.

References

External links

Niagara Regional Police Service
{{Law enforcement agencies in Canada Law enforcement agencies of Ontario Regional Municipality of Niagara Politics of Niagara Falls, Ontario