Ottawa Police Service
Service de police d'Ottawa (French)
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AbbreviationOPS
MottoCommunity Service Communautaire
Agency overview
Formed1995 (OPS), 1855 (original)
Annual budget$346.5 million (2022)
Jurisdictional structure
Legal jurisdictionCity of Ottawa
Governing bodyOttawa Police Services Board
Constituting instrument
General nature
Operational structure
HeadquartersOttawa, Ontario
Sworn members1,480 (2022)
Unsworn members620 (2022)
Elected officer responsible
Agency executive
Parent agencyCity of Ottawa
Facilities
Stations5
Website
www.ottawapolice.ca

The Ottawa Police Service (OPS; French: Service de police d'Ottawa) is the municipal police service of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The OPS serves an area of 2,790 square kilometres and 1,017,449 (2021 census) people, alongside several other police forces which have specialized jurisdiction.

History

The OPS can trace its origins to the "Bytown Association", formed in 1847.[1] In 1855 Roderick Ross was the first chief constable for the newly-formed City of Ottawa. Over time, neighbouring municipalities also formed their own police forces, including Eastview in 1913 (became the Vanier Police in 1963) and Gloucester-Nepean in 1957 (split into separate Nepean and Gloucester Police in 1964). As a precursor to future amalgamations, the Vanier Police were absorbed by the Ottawa Police in 1984.

In 1995, the Ottawa, Nepean, and Gloucester police forces amalgamated to form the Ottawa-Carleton Regional Police Service. The jurisdiction of the new force was extended to portions of Ottawa-Carleton that had previously been under the jurisdiction of the Ontario Provincial Police.

The modern Ottawa Police Service was formed in 2001 following the amalgamation of Ottawa-Carleton's constituent municipalities into Ottawa.[2]

Over the course of Ottawa's history, the police forces have had 14 officers killed in the line of duty.[3]

Policing philosophy

The OPS, takes a community-oriented approach to policing.[4] The Neighbourhood Resource Team (NRT) program was created to deploy frontline constables into high-crime and high-traffic areas. After the closure of the OPS school resource officer program, NRT gained a new youth subdivision intended to engage with at-risk youth outside of the education system. The PIVOT team works to combat guns and gangs within Ottawa through a strategic deployment to certain communities.

The OPS hiring process is longer than most services in Canada. An onboarding process can take up to 18 months to complete before training. Frontline OPS constables are expected to prioritize community interaction, which is a different approach from traditional law enforcement.

Community policing is displayed in many OPS units. Frontline and NRT constables are expected to make connections with citizens and businesses in the areas they serve. This in turn, creates a more trusting environment all-around.

The OPS was the first police service in Canada to include a Hate Crimes investigative branch.

Organization

The current chief of police is Eric Stubbs.[5][6]

On Friday, October 21st, 2022, Ottawa Police Service Board Chair announced RCMP Assistant Commissioner Eric Stubbs would become Ottawa’s next Chief of Police effective November 17th, 2022.

Rank Commanding officers Senior officers Police officers
Chief of police Deputy chief of police Superintendent Inspector Staff sergeant Sergeant First class constable Second class constable Third class constable Fourth class constable
Insignia

(slip-on)
Insignia

(shoulder board)
Shoulder boards not used for these ranks

The rank of senior constable is no longer awarded, however the rank is still in effect until the last senior constable retires. To have become a senior constable, an officer had to have had ten years service and have successfully completed the sergeant's promotional exam.[7]

With very rare exceptions, all police officers receive their three-month police training and basic constables diplomas at the Ontario Police College, located in Aylmer, Ontario.

New police recruits are hired as 4th class constables, and without any training or discipline issues, can expect to reach the rank of 1st class constable within 5 years. A 1st class constable has a base salary pretax of approximately $96,000, not including overtime and off-duty court time. This pay rate is the norm compared to other police services found within Ontario and generally the Ottawa Police Service falls within the top five highest paid services in the province.

The OPS also maintains a Ceremonial Guard to attend the many community events and parades that occur in Ottawa as a representative of the police service,[8] and the Ottawa Police Service Pipe Band, which competes every season in the Ontario pipe band circuit, most notably finishing as Ontario Championship Supreme in grade 2 in 2012.[9]

Inter-agency relationships

Security services at Parliament Hill and the parliamentary district in Ottawa are handled by the Parliamentary Protective Service[10] (PPS) and Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), not the OPS. The RCMP generally do not play a role in municipal police operations in Ottawa, with the exception of federal land managed by the National Capital Commission. Under federal and provincial law, the RCMP have jurisdiction over the entire city but maintain a mandate of diplomatic engagements, federal land, and the carriage rides.

The Ontario Provincial Police patrol Ottawa's main provincial highways (Highway 416 and the Queensway).

The Canadian Forces deploy their own military police to patrol Department of National Defence property in Ottawa (National Defence Headquarters (Canada), NDHQ Carling, CFS Leitrim and Connaught Cadet Training Centre).

The OPS provides law enforcement services at Ottawa Macdonald–Cartier International Airport and is also authorized to act on behalf of Ottawa Macdonald–Cartier International Airport Authority to provide certain security services. Before the 1997 semi-privatization of Class 1 Canadian airports, these services were provided by the RCMP to Transport Canada.

In April 2007, the Ottawa Police Services Board granted special constable status to transit law enforcement officers employed by OC Transpo. The OPS works in partnership with transit special constables who provide many frontline supplemental police services in cooperation with the Ottawa Police.

In the same way, some of the safety personnel of Carleton University are sworn as special constables and hold limited police powers on campus grounds.

Operations

The OPS has five police stations and 19 community policing centres.[11]

Patrol operations

  • East division
  • Central division
  • West division

Criminal investigative services

  • Homicide Unit
  • Arson Unit
  • Sexual assault and child abuse section
  • Partner assault section
  • Organized auto theft
  • Guns and gangs unit
  • Fraud section
  • Elder abuse section
  • General investigative services
  • Break and enter response
  • Victim crisis unit
  • Direct action response team (DART)
  • Street crime unit
  • Diversity, race and relations unit
  • Internet child exploitation unit (ICE)
  • Drug unit
  • Forensic identification section
  • Human Trafficking and Offender Management (Human Trafficking, Missing Persons, Sex Offender Registry, Dangerous/Long Term Offender, Threat Evaluation and Offender Management, Major Case Management/ViClas)

Support services

  • 911 communications
  • Court security and temporary custody: this section is responsible for prisoner security. The unit is staffed with police officers and special constables. Special constables are sworn-in pursuant to section 53 of Police Services Act which confers peace officer status. Special constables have the powers of a police officer when in the execution of their duties.
  • Victim services
  • Telephone response unit: call takers for minor crimes with no investigative leads
  • Imaging services unit
Ottawa Police Service Underwater Search and Recovery Unit at Britannia Yacht Club 2012

Emergency operations

Corporate services

  • Media relations
  • Quartermaster
  • Planning, performance and analytics
  • Community development
  • Diversity and race relations

Executive services

  • Professional standards section
  • Corporate communications

Fleet

An OPS Ford Police Interceptor Utility near Laurier Avenue

Throughout the 20th century, the Ottawa Police Service and other neighbouring police services used a variety of vehicles, such as the Chevrolet Caprice.

An OPS Harley-Davidson FLHP

By the 2001 amalgamation, the majority of marked patrol vehicles deployed by the OPS were the Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor (CVPI) and Chevrolet Impala 9C1. Following the CVPI's discontinuation in 2011, the OPS purchased Ford Police Interceptor Sedan (FPIS) and Ford Police Interceptor Utility (FPIU) vehicles to replace it.[12][13] The FPIS became the new majority of marked patrol vehicles in the fleet, especially after the Chevrolet Impala 9C1's discontinuation in 2016, until it was discontinued in 2019; since then, most FPIS vehicles in the fleet have been retired and replaced by newer FPIUs.

In February 2021, the Ottawa Police Services Board discussed the possibility of using electric police cars.[14] In summer 2022, the OPS tested Dodge Durango and Dodge Charger police vehicles.[15]

An OPS Lenco BearCat G3 used by the tactical unit

Vehicles used by the tactical unit include the Ford Expedition and the Lenco BearCat.

The OPS has one fixed wing aircraft, a Cessna 206[16] and various marine vehicles that patrol Ottawa waterways in the summer.

Replacement of marked general patrol vehicles[13]

Year Number of vehicles
2009 57
2010 40
2011 58
2012 58
2013 60
Proposed 2014 37

Ottawa Police fleet:[17]

Vehicle Quantity
2020 Ford Police Interceptor Utility (Patrol) >100
2016 Ford Police Interceptor Utility (Patrol) >100
Ford Crown Victoria (mostly retired) <10
Ford Taurus (paid duty) 58 [12]
Chevrolet Impala (retired) <10
Other sedans 148
Vans 49
SUVs/trucks 38
Boats 5
Motorcycles 29
Snowmobiles 4
ATVs 4
Trailers 16
Specialty vehicles 6
Prisoner transport 3
Ford Crown Victoria (non-patrol) 18
Dodge Charger 1
Ford Expedition
Total 554

Equipment

Controversies

In June 2020, Chief Peter Sloly announced that Const. James Ramsay had been charged for creating a racist meme depicting racialized members of the Ottawa Police Service. The meme was a photo collage depicting 13 officers, most of whom were men of colour, and included the phrase "Ottawa Police Services – We're always hiring…anyone."[21] The meme had circulated widely among the Ottawa Police Service before coming to the attention of Sloly. In late April, Sloly stated in a virtual meeting with the Ottawa Police services board that the meme targeted racialized members of the service. "It is an overt act of racism and it is unacceptable... This is more evidence of the need for a serious overhaul of our culture, ethics and ethical behaviour. The culture of the Ottawa Police Service needs significant improvement. We can no longer ignore this reality."[22] Rasmay was temporarily demoted from first class to second class constable for 9 months as well as required participation in healing circle.[23]

In September 2020, Ontario Court Justice Peter K. Doody found that the Ottawa Police Service had "a pattern of systemic failure" towards respecting the right to counsel guaranteed by Section 10 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms after a defense lawyer presented him with 15 cases over the previous three years – not including the case in question and a subsequently reported case – of the OPS failing to advise detainees of that right.[24]

In February 2022, Sloly resigned from the Ottawa Police Service amid controversy over his failure to disperse defiant anti-COVID-19 restriction protestors, which resulted in the Ottawa Police Service becoming managed by both the Mounties and the Ontario Provincial Police setting up a command centre in Ottawa to work with the local police.[25] On February 16, 2022, Steve Bell, who has served as OPS Deputy Chief[26] since 2016,[5] was named as the interim Police Chief.[5]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Our History—Ottawa Police Service / Service de police d'Ottawa". Ottawapolice.ca. Archived from the original on September 26, 2011. Retrieved October 3, 2011.
  2. ↑ "Timeline—Ottawa Police Service / Service de police d'Ottawa". Ottawapolice.ca. Archived from the original on November 15, 2012. Retrieved October 3, 2011.
  3. ↑ "Officers Killed on Duty—Ottawa Police Service / Service de police d'Ottawa". Ottawapolice.ca. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
  4. ↑ "About Us". www.ottawapolice.ca. April 12, 2021. Retrieved March 6, 2022.
  5. 1 2 3 Crawford, Blair (February 16, 2022). "Steve Bell, 25-year veteran, has been named interim Ottawa Police Service chief". Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved March 29, 2022.
  6. ↑ Lapierre, Matthew (March 7, 2022). "Interim Ottawa police chief considering action against officers who allegedly supported 'Freedom Convoy'". Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved March 29, 2022.
  7. ↑ "Organizational Structure—Ottawa Police Service / Service de police d'Ottawa". Ottawapolice.ca. Archived from the original on September 7, 2011. Retrieved October 3, 2011.
  8. ↑ "Ceremonial Guard". www.ottawapolice.ca. July 28, 2020. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
  9. ↑ "Pipe Band". ottawapolice.icrt-ops1.esolg.ca. December 13, 2018. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
  10. ↑ "Establishment of the Parliamentary Protective Service" (PDF). Parliament of Canada. June 25, 2015. Retrieved December 16, 2018.
  11. ↑ "Site Map—Ottawa Police Service / Service de police d'Ottawa". Ottawapolice.ca. Archived from the original on November 2, 2011. Retrieved October 3, 2011.
  12. 1 2 "Purchase of Police Package Vehicles - 2012". Ottawa Police Service.
  13. 1 2 Director General Frazer (July 28, 2014). "Purchase of Police Package Vehicles - 2014". Ottawa.ca. Chief of Police, Ottawa Police Service.
  14. ↑ "Ottawa police board set to discuss possibility of electric cruisers". CityNews Ottawa. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
  15. ↑ "Ottawa police test driving new Dodge Durango Enforcer cruiser". Ottawa. April 20, 2022. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
  16. ↑ Transport Canada (June 3, 2015). "Canadian Civil Aircraft Register". Retrieved June 3, 2015.
  17. ↑ "Audit of Ottawa Police Service Fleet - 2007 Report" (PDF). City of Ottawa - Office of the Auditor General.
  18. ↑ "Ottawa police will shoot to kill". Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved July 18, 2012.
  19. ↑ "Ottawa police chief wants to arm more officers with Tasers". Retrieved July 14, 2016.
  20. ↑ "Detailed City of Ottawa public access defibrillator site list". City of Ottawa. Archived from the original on May 5, 2015. Retrieved December 16, 2018.
  21. ↑ "Ottawa police member charged in relation to 'racist' meme". CBC. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
  22. ↑ "Ottawa police detective suspended over 'racist' meme". CBC. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
  23. ↑ Jones, Ryan Patrick (February 2, 2021). "Detective who made 'disgusting' meme gets temporary demotion". CBC News.
  24. ↑ Dimmock, Gary (December 21, 2020). "'Systemic failure': Pattern of Ottawa officers delaying an accused's right to counsel revealed in court". Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
  25. ↑ Dawson, Tyler (February 15, 2022). "RCMP and OPP set up command centre in Ottawa as police chief Peter Sloly resigns". National Post. Retrieved February 15, 2022.
  26. ↑ "Deputy Chief Steve Bell". OPS Community Equity Council. Retrieved March 29, 2022.
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