Peel Regional Police

Peel Regional Police
Peel Regional Police
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Motto	A safer community
Agency overview
Formed	1974
Operational structure
Headquarters	Brampton, ON
Sworn members	1769
Unsworn members	600
Agency executive	H. M. (Mike) Metcalf, Chief of Police;
Facilities
Divisions	5
Website
	http://www.peelpolice.on.ca/

The Peel Regional Police (PRP) provides police services for Peel Region in Ontario, Canada. As of 2005, it is the second largest municipal police service in Ontario after the Toronto Police Service and third largest municipal force in Canada (behind Toronto and Montreal) with 1,700 uniformed members and close to 600 support staff.

The Peel Region Police serve the over 1,200,000 citizens of Mississauga and Brampton, located immediately west of Toronto, and the Pearson International Airport which annually sees 32 million travellers. Although it is part of the Region of Peel, policing for the Town of Caledon, which is north of Brampton, is the responsibility of the Ontario Provincial Police. The village of Snelgrove was once part of Caledon, but is now within Brampton, and is within the jurisdiction of the Peel force. Policing of 400-series highways that pass through the Region, including King's Highways 407 ETR, 403, and 410, is the responsibility of the OPP, while the PRP patrol the section of Highway 409 leading to the airport.

History

Peel Regional Police was established in tandem with the creation of the Regional Municipality of Peel on January 1, 1974. It integrated the former police departments of Mississauga, Port Credit, Streetsville, Brampton, and Chinguacousy.

Toronto Township Police Department was formed in January 1944 and was later renamed Mississauga Township Police Department in 1968.

Brampton Township Police Department dates to 1873, when it was created to replace policing from Chinguacousy. It merged with the other local forces in 1974.

Chinguacousy Township Police traces roots back to 1853, and was merged to the Peel force in 1974.

Port Credit Police Department was founded with township's incorporation in 1909, and merged with the Mississauga force in 1961. The Streetsville Police Department was formed in 1858 and merged into the Peel force in 1974.

As of 2008 Peel Regional Police has 1844 officers.

Since the creation of the Peel force only 4 deaths have been recorded, 3 from traffic accidents (latest in March 2010) and 1 from a stabbing (1984).^[1]

Mission statement

Peel Regional Police, in partnership with the community, will strive to create a safe environment in which to live, work, and visit.

Command structure

The Peel Regional Police divides the region into five divisions. Major police stations are located in each division which are supported by smaller Community Police Stations. These provide residents with services to deal with traffic complaints, neighbour disputes, minor thefts, community issues, landlord-tenant disputes, on-going problems in a neighbourhood, found property, and respond to questions related to policing in the community.

11 Division

Commanded by Superintendent Bob Devolin

3030 Erin Mills Parkway, Mississauga

Community Police Stations

Clarkson, 2057 Royal Windsor Drive
Erin Mills, 3476 Glen Erin Drive
Meadowvale, 6677 Meadowvale Town Centre Circle

12 Division

Commanded by Superintendent Mike Moore.

4600 Dixie Road, Mississauga

Community Police Stations

Bloor Street, 3461 Dixie Road
Cooksville, 3038 Hurontario Street
Lakeshore, 268 Lakeshore Road East
Square One, 85 Queen Street South

The Marine Unit at 135 Lakefront Promenade is located in this division. The unit is responsible for 105 square kilometre of waterways, including Lake Ontario and rivers that run in the region.

21 Division

Commanded by Superintendent Steve Wollaston.

185 Central Park Drive, Bramalea

Community Police Stations

Malton, 7205 Goreway Drive
Springdale, 6-51 Mountainash Road

22 Division (Headquarters)

Commanded by Superintendent Brian Adams.

7750 Hurontario Street, Brampton

Community Police Stations

Loafers Lake, 30 Loafers Lake Lane
Queen Street, 148 Queen Street East
South Brampton, 499 Ray Lawson Boulevard

Airport Division

Currently commanded by Superintendent Michael MacMullen, the Airport Division was established in 1997 following the departure of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).

The Airport Division consists of uniform, tactical, and plain clothes officers and staffed at 2951 Convair Drive in Mississauga.

Recruitment

The Peel Regional Police follows the P.R.E.P Testing as of July 2008 for its constable selection process. Unlike every other police service in the province, the Peel Regional Police does not charge for its written and physical testings.

The physical requirements are:

Jumping a 4-foot (1.2 m) fence
Climb stairs
Run laps
Pull testing
Push testing
Push together testing
Drag a 150 pound dummy approximately 7.5 m
Beep test and minimum of 6.5 to pass the test

Uniform

As of January 2008, front line officers wear black shirts, cargo pants with a red stripe and boots. Winter jackets are either black or reflective orange/yellow with the word POLICE in white and blue at the back. Hats are standard forage caps with a red band. Yukon hats are worn in the winter.

Senior officers wear white shirts and a black dress jacket.

Logo

The Peel logo incorporates the seal of the Regional Municipality of Peel:

sheaf of wheat
tree of knowledge
steam train locomotive
building

Fleet

Peel Regional Police has a fleet of over 300 vehicles including:

Armet Armoured Vehicles Incorporated Trooper - using Balkan Mk7 chassis - tactical unit truck
Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptors (Canine/Tactical, Marked and Unmarked)
Dodge Charger (LX) cruisers (Unmarked/Marked)
Chevrolet Impala cruisers (Marked/Unmarked)
Harley-Davidson FL motorcycles (Traffic Services Unit)
Chevrolet Tahoe SUV (Airport Enforcement)
Toyota Highlander SUV (Duty Inspectors)
Chevrolet Suburban SUV (Tactical Rescue Unit)
Chevrolet Express (Tactical Rescue Unit)
Ford Escape Hybrid SUV (Media Relations)
Tactical Truck (Tactical Rescue Unit)
Marine 1 - 40-foot (12 m) Hike Metal, twin diesel powered/twin propeller aluminum-hulled motor vessel powered by two 310 horse power VOLVO-PENTA diesel engines
Marine 2 - 26-foot (7.9 m) 2004 Zodiac Hurricane, 7.5 meter Rigid Hull Inflatable Boat powered by twin 150 horsepower (110 kW) outboard motors (2 Yamaha 150 hp four stroke outboard engines, 380 litres)
16 foot aluminum boat - from Port Credit Police in 1974; retired
Trek Bicycle Corporation Mountain Hardtail 3700 mountain bikes
T3 Motion Electric Vehicles (Airport Enforcement)
Ford F350 paddy wagon (Court Services)
Dodge Magnum (Traffic Enforcement)

All vehicles are painted white, a changed made from yellow standard used by GTA forces in the 1980s. In 2007 Peel Police was the first Ontario police force to use red and blue lights for their cruisers.

Patrol Car
Bike Patrol

Side arms

Smith & Wesson M&P .40 caliber pistol - New standard sidearm for all officers^[2] in 2008
Smith & Wesson 4046 pistol
Heckler & Koch MP5 - Tactical Rescue Unit only

Units

Traffic Enforcement
- Regional Traffic
- Regional Breath Unit
- Major Collision Bureau

Investigation
- Gang Unit
- Homicide
- Central Robbery Bureau
- Special Victims Unit
- Street Crime
- Forensic Identification
- Commercial Auto Crime Bureau
- ICE Unit
- Technological Crime
- Morality Unit

Special
- Dive Team
- Tactical Response Unit
- Canine Bureau
- Marine Unit

Community Support
- Family Violence
- Auxiliary Program
- Alarm Program
- Diversity Relations
- Labour Liaison
- Drug Education

Awards

(1995) Won the Webber Seavey Award for quality in law enforcement sponsored by the International Association of Chiefs of Police and Motorola. The award was made for the development of a process that helps abused children through the justice system and into treatment with minimal personal trauma.

(1995) Awarded the Certificate of Merit by the National Quality Institute's (NQI) "Canada Awards of Excellence" program.

(1994) Accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA), the first police service in Ontario to receive this distinction and only the fifth in Canada.^[3]

Members of the Peel Regional Police are involved in fundraising for a variety of charities and community causes. They have annually raised over $1,000,000 for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and $140,000 through the "Cops for Cancer" program. They are also one of the region's largest donators to the United Way. Members of the force are involved in public service and volunteerism throughout the community.

Controversies

Misconduct allegations

(2008) Constable Roger Yeo was accused of stalking young girls while off-duty in the summer and fall of 2005. During the course of the investigation into the stalking allegations Yeo said he had used steroids while on the job and claimed other officers had also done so. This prompted Chief Mike Metcalf to launch an investigation into steroid use in the force.^[4]

Yeo was found guilty of discreditable conduct on 29 April 2008 and was suspended with pay.

The sentencing phase of Yeo's hearing was scheduled for 15 April 2009, however he resigned on 23 January 2009 and all ongoing disciplinary proceedings were stayed.^[5]^[6]

(2006) A $9.5 million lawsuit was filed by a police officer, Constable Duane Simon, an 18-year veteran of the Toronto Police Service, alleging false imprisonment, abuse of public office, injurious falsehoods, negligent investigation and breach of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms after he had been arrested and charged with assault of a female Peel Regional Police Officer.

Simon's suit is pending.

(2006) A $3.6 million lawsuit was filed by the parents of three Brampton teens alleging seven off-duty officers attacked them without cause in the fall of 2005 after one of the teens crashed his bicycle into a car owned by one of the men.

The suit was settled out of court in June 2006.

(2006) A $12 million suit was filed by Orlando Canizalez and Richard Cimpoesu who claim that they were roughed up by off-duty police on 28 August 2006 after refusing to give up their videotape of officers partying behind a strip mall.

A former police officer stated he had previously been to the location mentioned and that beer is often taken from underage drinkers with the minors being released with a warning. The seized alcohol is later consumed by officers at after-hours parties at various locations throughout Peel Region.^[7]

Fourteen officers have been charged under the Police Act with offences ranging from discreditable conduct to neglect of duty. Ten other officers have been disciplined for their roles in the incident. Of these, two were demoted, while others were docked 4 to 9 days pay. The lawsuit brought by the two men is pending.

(2006) A $14.6 million lawsuit was filed by former Toronto Argonaut football player Orlando Bowen, who says he was assaulted and falsely arrested on 26 March 2004 by two undercover officers outside a Mississauga night club. Bowen was tried and acquitted for drug possession in 2005, claiming the officers had planted drugs on him. The judge in the case described the testimony of the officers involved as "incredible and unworthy of belief".

The Crown prosecutor attempted to have the charges against Bowen withdrawn before a verdict was rendered after Constable Sheldon Cook, a 14-year veteran of the force, was charged on 18 November 2005 by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) with drug possession and drug trafficking. RCMP officers tracked a shipment of cocaine from Pearson International Airport to Cook's home in Cambridge where they found discovered 15 kilograms of the drug with a street value of more than $500,000.

Bowen's suit is pending. Cook's case is pending.^[8]

Public complaints

The Peel Regional Police Public Complaints Investigation Bureau (PCIB) investigates all complaints made by the public in regards to the actions and services provided by PRP officers. PCIB is a branch of the Professional Standards Bureau.

In 2005, 158 public complaints were filed:

2 resulted in informal discipline
1 resulted in charges under the Police Services Act of Ontario
none resulted in charges under the Criminal Code of Canada
155 were withdrawn by the complainants, resolved informally, or ruled invalid as they exceeded the time limit or the complainant was not directly affected

In 2004, 180 public complaints were filed:

3 resulted in informal discipline
none resulted in charges under the Police Services Act of Ontario
none resulted in charges under the Criminal Code of Canada
177 were withdrawn by the complainants, resolved informally, or ruled invalid as they exceeded the time limit or the complainant was not directly affected

Shooting death of Michael Wade Lawson

On 8 December 1988, 17-year-old Michael Wade Lawson was shot to death by two Peel Regional Police Constables. Anthony Melaragni #1192 and Darren Longpre #1139 were both charged, by way of preferred indictment via the Minister, with second-degree murder and aggravated assault; both were later acquitted by a jury.

The officers claimed that the stolen vehicle driven by Lawson was approaching the officers head-on in a threatening manner, and they then discharged their firearms.^[9]

An autopsy conducted by the Ontario Coroner's Office showed that the unarmed teenager was struck by a hollow-point bullet to the back of the head. This type of bullet was considered illegal at the time, as hollow-point bullets were not authorized for use by police officers in Ontario.

Shortly after the shooting death of Lawson and pressure from the African Canadian community, the Attorney General of Ontario established the Race Relations and Policing Task Force. The Task Force made several recommendations, the result was the provincial government creating the Special Investigations Unit to investigate police shootings resulting in injury or death.^[9]

In June 2002, Peel Regional Police promoted both Melaragni and Longpre to the rank of Detective. As of 2006, Det. Melaragni is the head of PRPs street gang squad, based within the Intelligence Unit.^[10]^[11]

Notes

External links