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.
While YRP provides marine policing in the waters on Lake Simcoe, policing for Georgina Island (as well as Fox and Snake islands) is provided by the Georgina Island Police with assistance from the Ontario Provincial Police. The islands have had a separate First Nations police service since 1978.[2]
The York Regional Police were formed in 1971, when the province forced the creation of a regional upper-tier municipal government that included the lower-tier municipalities of York County.[3]
Prior to 1971, there were several police forces serving individual communities:
The YRP's motto, "Deeds Speak", is derived from the motto of the 3rd York Militia Regiment, many of whom also served as local constables in the Home District.[3] The YRP crest is based on the crest from the former County of York government.
The YRP's senior command consists of a chief of police and four deputy chiefs.
The head of the police service is Chief Jim MacSween who was sworn in as chief on May 1, 2020. He replaced retired Chief Eric Jolliffe, after he served almost 10 years in the position. The administration and senior command are based at York Regional Police Headquarters in Aurora, Ontario.
A list of chiefs of the York Regional Police since its creation in 1971:
Operations are composed of:
The York Regional Police are divided into five geographical districts:
Each district is headed by a superintendent and inspector.
The York Regional Police provide a substation to the community of Whitchurch-Stouffville. Numerous personnel work out of this substation to provide a police presence for the community.[7] This community substation is supplied under the host of 5 District (Markham) resources.
Shared with the King Township municipal offices, York Regional Police deploys personnel from the King City Community Substation to provide rapid and fluid policing services to the residents of King Township. The substation is supplied under the host of 1 District (Newmarket) resources.
York Regional Police's Community Safety Village is a resource used by the service to teach young children about fire, traffic and personal safety. The resource includes a 10,000 square foot replica town with crosswalks, functioning traffic lighting and signals. Usually the resource is utilized by local schools, however, several family events are held at the location yearly.[8]
This site hosts the service's Collision Reporting Centre for collisions that occur of the southern municipalities in the region. It also offers services that include Police Information Checks, Criminal Record Checks and several other services.[9]
The former headquarters for 1 District is currently under renovations to become an administration building.[6] The building will host certain bureaus and their respective units that are currently operated out of Headquarters.
The marine unit consists of 11 full-time members and patrols the southern shoreline of Lake Simcoe and other York Region waterways. It is responsible for approximately 350 square kilometers of Lake Simcoe and can service the entire lake if required. The unit has seven vessels at their disposal and are deployed from the Marine Unit Headquarters located at 57 Lorne St., in Jackson's Point, Georgina.[10]
Emergency support is a 23-member unit with an emergency response unit and explosive disposal unit.
The service currently has an authorized strength of close to 1,700 sworn members and approximately 500 civilian staff.
The York Regional Police are one of two forces in the greater Toronto area with an active air support unit (Durham is the other). While the Toronto Police Service does not have an air unit, York's air unit serves their area under a mutual support agreement.
The vehicles are numbered according to their District and car number. For example, 123 represents that the vehicle is from 1 District, and the following 23 is the vehicle designation number.
Other fleet numbering patterns include:
Marked cruisers are labelled with the motto "Deeds Speak".
Three of the YRP's boats were named by Elder Barbara McDonald of the Chippewas of Georgina Island First Nation.[17]
Front line officers are dressed in dark blue (shirts, cargo pants (with red stripe) and boots), standard in most municipal police services in Ontario. Winter jackets are either black or reflective orange/yellow with the word police in white and blue at the back. Previously the service wore light blue shirts.
The uniform patch consist of the force's crest with wording "York Regional Police" on a black tombstone shape.
Auxiliary members wear the same uniform; lack of weapons, different shoulder patch and different hat band (black and red Sillitoe tartan) distinguish them from front line officers.
Officers wear standard forage caps and may opt for Yukon hats in the winter. Motorcycle units have white helmets. Black or reflective gloves are also provided to officers directing traffic. Red caps are used by search teams looking for missing persons.
Senior officers have white shirts and a dark blue dress jacket.
The YRP's flag consists of a nautical B signal flag with the YRP crest located in the white portion.
The rank insignia of the York Regional Police is similar to that used by police services elsewhere in Canada and in the United Kingdom, except that the usual "pips" are replaced by maple leaves.
The day-to-day and regional operations are commanded by senior officers:
On-road enforcement and emergency response is supervised by:
Investigations are divided into crimes against persons and crimes against property. These investigations are conducted by:
Communications is the branch of the York Regional Police responsible for receiving all 911 and non-emergency police calls. Under the supervision of information services, police communicators are on duty 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
The communications staff are non-sworn members of the York Regional Police, though the bureau is under the direction of an Inspector and a Staff sergeant.
The emergency response unit (ERU) is the YRP SWAT team formed in 1980. The ERU is a group of specialized operators. The unit's primary mandate is to deal with high-risk situations beyond the safe operating limits of police officers with their normal equipment and training. The ERU provides assistance during any high risk situations by performing the following;
In 1988 demand for the ERU was on the rise. Various operational obligations including the fatal shooting of an armed suspect by the ERU during a hostage rescue in Richmond Hill highlighted the need for additional members. In 1989 the ERU increased to 11 members.
In 2001 the York Regional Police established a shared service agreement with the Durham Regional Police Service, which allows for reciprocal tactical support in the event of large scale or long duration deployments. The York Regional Police provide tactical team and hostage rescue team support to the South Simcoe Police Service upon their request.
Following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York City, increased awareness of terrorist threats provided the greatest single incentive for growth and investment of tactical teams in Ontario since the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, Quebec.
The ERU's roster was expanded in 2002 to an undisclosed number. The roster includes both snipers and explosives technicians.
The ERU has full explosive forced entry capabilities, which are mainly used in its hostage rescue and armed/barricaded operations. The ERU is regularly involved in high-risk search warrant services within the York Region and the Greater Toronto Area as well as a number of high-profile joint forces operations within Ontario.
The York Regional Police ERU conduct their own strenuous selection process, with the applicants mainly being from the departments' uniformed divisions. The unit also trains its own candidates in most required disciplines and is one of the founding members of the Ontario Tactical Advisory Body (OTAB).
Members of the ERU currently hold positions within the OTAB and Canadian Explosive Technicians Association (CETA) as well as membership in the National Tactical Officers Association (NTOA) and International Association of Bomb Technicians and Investigators (IABTI).
The traffic bureau was formed in 1989. At that time, the traffic bureau worked out of offices located at 200 Industrial Parkway South in the Town of Aurora. The traffic bureau was made up of officers whose primary function was to enforce traffic related laws. The unit was made up of six officers who drove motorcycles and marked police cruisers.
As time went on the unit began to specialize in the reconstruction of motor vehicle collisions. The unit expanded to approximately 20 officers working on four different platoons. The platoons followed the regular uniform officer shifts.
On January 1, 2002, the traffic bureau was split into two separate entities, a traffic enforcement unit and a technical collision investigation unit (TCIU). The TCIU was made up of six officers on two separate shifts supervised by one supervisor.
In 2004, the technical collision investigation unit was renamed the "collision reconstruction unit". The unit had eight members made up of investigators and collision reconstructionists. The unit was still working with two shifts and each shift had a supervisor.
At present the collision reconstruction unit is made up of 10 officers. Two teams of four investigators and collision reconstructionists and a supervisor. The team members specialize in investigative techniques and collision reconstruction.
On December 15, 2003, York Regional Police's collision reconstruction unit investigated a collision on Rutherford Road west of Pine Valley Drive in the City of Vaughan that killed former NHL Chicago Black Hawks player Keith Magnuson. Rob Ramage, another former NHL player, was arrested and charged with impaired operation causing death and bodily harm, dangerous operation causing death and bodily harm, as well as over 80mgs. At the trial in the fall of 2007, Ramage was convicted of all the counts except the over 80mgs. In January 2008, Ramage was sentenced to four years in prison. He appealed his conviction and sentence. On July 12, 2010, the Ontario Court of Appeal upheld the conviction and sentence.
The members of the unit have received training in collision reconstruction, marine reconstruction and other related fields in Ontario as well as in the US
The enforcement unit is responsible for enforcement of all traffic laws. Officers from the enforcement unit perform breath tests and test drivers for sobriety utilizing standardized field sobriety testing and drug recognition experts. The York Regional Police's traffic bureau has trained over 100 frontline officers in the SFST battery and 15 officers trained as DREs
Officers from the enforcement unit utilize various speed measuring devices from hand-held radars and lasers to moving radar units in their police vehicles. Speed enforcement is conducted throughout the region. Special computerized ticket writing units are utilized in police vehicles to ensure there are no human errors.
The enforcement unit also instituted a prohibited driver program where officers investigate persons convicted of criminal driving offences whereby their driving privileges are revoked. Members use unmarked vehicles and conduct surveillance on suspects' home and court to catch violators.
The enforcement unit is known to have ticket quotas and unnecessarily handing out tickets. During the COVID-19 pandemic, York Regional Police officers wrote out tickets for expired licence plate stickers, despite the fact that the provincial government had extended the validity of these stickers indefinitely.[27][28]
The York Regional Police are part of the York Region's emergency services and works with:
Bobby the Bear, Morris the Moose and Bucky the Beaver are the force's mascots and appear at various community events.[29][30]
The York Regional Police also operates a variety of musical ensembles by permission of the chief. The York Regional Police Pipes and Drums, the Community Chorus, and Youth Band all represent the police force at parades, community functions and ceremonies.[31]
The York Regional Police Pipes and Drums is a pipe band affiliated with the police service. Founded in 1988, it consists of serving members of the police force and the public.[32] The band represents the police force at a variety of events where appropriate, including parades and community functions. The band also competes in local pipe band competitions in grade 4.[33]
