Niagara Parks Police Service | |
---|---|
Motto | Unity, Loyalty, Responsibility |
Agency overview | |
Formed | 1887 |
Jurisdictional structure | |
Operations jurisdiction | Regional Municipality of Niagara, Ontario, Canada |
Governing body | Niagara Regional Police Services Board |
Constituting instrument | |
General nature | |
Operational structure | |
Headquarters | 6075 Niagara Parkway, Niagara Falls, Ontario |
Special constables | 21 [1] |
Non-sworn members | 6-46 [1] |
Elected officer responsible |
|
Agency executive |
|
Website | |
www |
The Niagara Parks Police Service is a special constabulary maintained by the Niagara Parks Commission in Niagara Falls, Niagara-on-the-Lake and Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada. Established in 1887, the Niagara Parks Police Service has a unique status among Ontario special constabularies in that its members are armed and trained at the Ontario Police College. [2] As special constables, Parks Police officers only have authority on or in relation to property owned by the Niagara Parks Commission, in contrast to municipal or provincial police officers, who have authority province-wide.
The Service is funded entirely by the Niagara Parks Commission, an agency of the provincial government, and operates with an annual budget of approximately $3.6 million. [3] .
Niagara Parks Police officers fall under the mandate of the Special Investigations Unit. [4]
The Niagara Parks Commission was established in 1885 and charged with maintaining the land and buildings immediately surrounding the Canadian side of the Horseshoe Falls. [5] The Parks Police Service was established three years later, and initially consisted of two police officers. [1] The Parks Police Service was originally incorporated and authorized as a police force, but at some point during the mid-20th century, it was reorganized as a special constabulary. [1]
In 2010, the provincial government and Niagara Regional Police Services Board considered discontinuing the Parks Police Service, citing concerns about a lack of accountability for special constables. [6] At the time, special constables were not under the jurisdiction of the province's Special Investigations Unit (SIU), meaning that Parks Police officers who fired their guns or were involved in interactions that ended in the death or serious injury of a suspect would be investigated by another police force rather than the civilian watchdog. [6] [7]
In 2019, the authority of the SIU was expanded to include "special constables employed by the Niagara Parks Commission." [8]
Also in 2019, the Parks Commission fired then-Police Chief Mark McMullen after an internal HR investigation into a traffic stop the previous summer. [9] Inspector Paul Forcier was subsequently appointed as his replacement.
In 2022, a Parks Police officer shot and killed a man armed with bear spray and an edged weapon. [10] The subsequent SIU investigation found that the officer had acted in self-defence, and no charges were laid. [11]
There have been 15 chiefs of police throughout the Service's history. Paul Forcier is the present Chief of the Niagara Parks Police Service. [12]
Chief | Tenure |
---|---|
William Bowman | 1887–1904 |
James Wilcox | 1904-1908 |
Joseph Vandersluys | 1908-1913 |
J. Harrison Plow | 1913-1920 |
John Jackson | 1920-1924 |
Charles Atcherly | 1924-1940 |
Cyril Bratley | 1940-1957 |
Edwin Rehfeld | 1957-1967 |
Wilfred J. Derbyshire | 1967-1993 |
Raymond G. Vassallo | 1993-2003 |
Timothy Berndt | 2003-2008 |
Douglas Kane [13] | 2008-2013 |
Carl Scott [13] | 2013–2017 |
Mark McMullen [9] | 2017-2019 |
Paul Forcier [12] | 2019- |
Officers of Niagara Parks Police Service are appointed as special constables and have the full powers of a police officer to enforce the Criminal Code, the Niagara Parks Act, the Highway Traffic Act, the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act , the Trespass to Property Act, and the Liquor License Act on or in relation to the approximately 3274 acres of parkland and 56 kilometers of highway owned and operated by the Niagara Parks Commission. [1] The Niagara Regional Police Service maintains jurisdictional authority over the entirety of the Niagara Region, including the Commission lands patrolled by the Parks Police. The special constables are appointed by the Niagara Regional Police Services Board with the approval of the Ministry of the Solicitor General, and the appointments must be renewed every five years. [14] [15]
Title | Number | Type |
---|---|---|
Chief of Police | 1 | Special Constable |
Inspector | 1 | Special Constable |
Sergeant | 4 | Special Constable |
Constable | 21 | Special Constable |
Communications Officer | 4 full-time | Dispatcher |
Provincial Offences Officer | 2 full-time, up to 40 seasonal | Provincial Offences Officer |
The Niagara Parks Police Headquarters is located at 6075 Niagara Parkway, Niagara Falls, Ontario, directly across from the American Falls in the former Administrative Building of the Niagara Parks Commission. [16]
The Niagara Parks Police Service employs three specialized units: the High Angle River Team (HART), a part-time unit which consists of officers specially trained in high angle rescue techniques; [17] the Marine Unit, which patrols both the upper and lower Niagara Rivers alongside the Niagara Regional Police; and a Canine Unit consisting of one handler and a dog trained in search and rescue and explosives detection. [18]
During the peak tourist season, nearly 40 students are employed as provincial offense officers and they are responsible for the orderly flow of traffic and parking offenses. These officers supplement 2 full-time provincial offenses officers who are employed year-round. [1]
Parks Police officers wear traditional police navy blue uniform shirts and cargo pants with red trouser piping, while provincial offenses officers wear baby blue uniform shirts. Special constables have the option to wear a peaked forage cap with a yellow band, and all members have ballcaps with the Service's crest. Members wear gold shoulder flashes that read "Parks Police," "Provincial Offences Officer," or "Communication Officer" based on their role.
Despite their special constable status, Parks Police officers have the unique authority to carry firearms, pepper spray, and tasers. In addition to this equipment, officers carry handcuffs and telescopic batons. [15] Seasonal provincial offenses officers are not trained or authorized to carry any form of weapon, but full-time provincial officers carry batons and pepper spray.
The Niagara Parks Police Service uses the Ford Police Interceptor Utility as a primary patrol vehicle. The Service also has a fleet of Giant bicycles, a Chevy Silverado pickup truck used by the High Angle Rescue Team, and a Ford F150 pickup truck used by the Canine Unit.
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) is the provincial police service of Ontario, Canada. The OPP patrols provincial highways and waterways; protects provincial government buildings and officials, with the exception of the legislative precinct; patrols unincorporated areas in northern Ontario; provides training, operational support, and funding to some Indigenous police forces; and investigates complex or multijurisdictional crimes across the province. The OPP also has a number of local mandates through contracts with municipal governments and First Nations, where it acts as the local police force and provides front-line services.
Transit police are specialized police agencies employed either by a common carrier, such as a transit district, railway, railroad, bus line, or another mass transit provider or municipality, county, district, or state.
Special police usually describes a police force or unit within a police force whose duties and responsibilities are significantly different from other forces in the same country or from other police in the same force, although there is no consistent international definition. A special constable, in most cases, is not a member of a special police force (SPF); in countries in the Commonwealth of Nations and often elsewhere, a special constable is a voluntary or part-time member of a national or local police force or a person involved in law enforcement who is not a police officer but has some of the powers of a police officer.
The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary (RNC) is the provincial police service for the province of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Police ranks are a system of hierarchical relationships in police organisations. The rank system defines authority and responsibility in a police organisation, and affects the culture within the police force. Usually, uniforms denote the bearer's rank by particular insignia affixed to the uniforms.
Avon and Somerset Police is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement in the five unitary authority areas of Bristol, Bath and North East Somerset, North Somerset, Somerset, and South Gloucestershire, all in South West England.
The Peel Regional Police (PRP) provides policing services for Peel Region in Ontario, Canada. It is the second largest municipal police service in Ontario after the Toronto Police Service and third largest municipal force in Canada behind those of Toronto and Montreal, with 2,200 uniformed members and close to 875 support staff.
The Toronto Police Service (TPS) is a municipal police force in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and the primary agency responsible for providing law enforcement and policing services in Toronto. Established in 1834, it was the first local police service created in North America and is one of the oldest police services in the English-speaking world.
The Transit Enforcement Unit is a special constabulary maintained by the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. First established in 1997, the Unit consists of special constables and provincial offences officers, referred to internally as transit fare inspectors. The unit's special constables have the full powers of a police power on or in relation to TTC property, and, as of 2023, the unit employs 101 special constables out of an authorized complement of 145.
The York Regional Police (YRP) is the police service of the Regional Municipality of York, Ontario, Canada. YRP was formed in 1971 from the police forces maintained by the nine municipalities which amalgamated into York Region at the time. The force employs over 1,500 sworn members and 618 unsworn members as of 2015.
The Metro Vancouver Transit Police (MVTP), previously the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority Police Service and formally the South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority Police Service (SCBCTAPS), is the police force for TransLink, the public transit system of the Metro Vancouver region of British Columbia, Canada.
The Niagara Regional Police Service (NRPS) is a regional police service maintained by the Regional Municipality of Niagara in the Canadian province of Ontario. As of 2021, the force employed 774 sworn police officers and 326 non-sworn support staff members.
The Special Investigations Unit is the civilian police oversight agency of the province of Ontario, Canada. The SIU is responsible for investigating circumstances involving police that have resulted in a death or serious injury, or if a firearm was discharged at a person. The unit also investigates allegations of sexual assault. The unit's goal is to ensure that criminal law is applied appropriately to police conduct, as determined through independent investigations, increasing public confidence in the police services.
The Hamilton Police Service (HPS) is the police service of the city of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. As of 2021, the service employed 829 sworn officers and 414 non-sworn staff, serving a population of about 570 000 residents. The service's headquarters are located at 155 King William St., Hamilton, Ontario. As of 2022, the service's budget is $183 542 539, roughly 18.5% of the City's overall budget. It is one of the oldest police forces in Ontario.
Law enforcement in Canada is the responsibility of police services, special constabularies, and civil law enforcement agencies, which are operated by every level of government, some private and Crown corporations, and First Nations. In contrast to the United States or Mexico, and with the exception of the Unité permanente anticorruption in Quebec and the Organized Crime Agency of British Columbia, there are no organizations dedicated exclusively to the investigation of criminal activity in Canada. Criminal investigations are instead conducted by police services, which maintain specialized criminal investigation units in addition to their mandate for emergency response and general community safety.
Auxiliary constables or reserve constables are unpaid citizens in Canada who volunteer their time and skills to a police force. They are uniformed, unarmed members who perform a similar role to their UK counterparts in the Special Constabulary. Their main function is to supplement the police force with additional manpower, with duties varying by appointment, geographical location and the needs of the specific detachment/department.
A special constable or special police constable can refer to an auxiliary or part-time law enforcement officer or a person who is granted certain (special) police powers.
The Office of the Independent Police Review Director is an independent civilian oversight agency that handles public complaints regarding police conduct in the Canadian province of Ontario. The agency oversees municipal police services and the Ontario Provincial Police.