Niagara Regional Police Service

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 NRPS was established on January 1, 1971, and was the second police service to serve a regional municipality after the Metropolitan Toronto Police Force. Its headquarters is located in Niagara Falls, Ontario.

History
The Regional Municipality of Niagara was created on January 1, 1970 through the amalgamation of Welland and Lincoln Counties and the re-organization of the 26 villages, towns, townships, and cities into 12 municipalities. As a part of the reorganization, the municipal police commissions were amalgamated into one regional board, and three deputy chiefs from the region's municipal police forces were appointed to oversee the process of creating a regional police force. One year later, on January 1, 1971, the Niagara Regional Police Force took over policing for the regional municipality, with 398 sworn officers and 42 non-sworn support staff.

In 2016, the Service opened a new headquarters in Niagara Falls, the first in the force's history that wasn't located in St. Catharines. The new headquarters was designed to replace both the previous headquarters and the Niagara Falls district station. The St. Catharines district station, which had previously also served as the headquarters for the Service, was replaced in 2021.

Effingham St Incident
On November 29, 2018, Constable Nathan Parker was shot nine times by Detective Sergeant Shane Donovan while the officers investigated a traffic collision in the rural town of Pelham, Ontario. Donovan was leading the collision reconstruction team, while Parker was a district officer assigned to keep the road closed while investigators worked the collision. While Donovan left to refuel his vehicle and pick up food for the investigators, Parker allegedly also left his post without informing any other officers, thus re-opening part of the road. When Donovan confronted him, Parker allegedly became irate, pushing, punching, and then drawing his baton on Det. Sgt. Donovan, to which Donovan responded by attempting to arrest Parker, drawing his firearm in the process. Parker then drew his gun, and Donovan shot Cst. Parker until he fell to the ground. Donovan then radioed for an ambulance, saying "PC Parker attacked me, shots fired" and "he did pull a gun on me but I shot him." Parker survived the shooting with serious injuries.

Immediately after the shooting, the SIU invoked its mandate to investigate the shooting, and the chief of the Niagara Regional Police Service requested the OPP conduct a parallel investigation to "determine if there was any criminal culpability outside of the SIU’s scope."

Parker had a history of misconduct, facing four different disciplinary board hearings, three of which were for violent behaviour. At the time of the shooting, Parker had been docked a cumulative 326 hours of pay for incidents that included excessive force used against prisoners, arresting a cyclist without cause, and opening his investigation into a supervisor who had already been cleared of wrongdoing. His reputation was so poor that one Niagara officer told the Toronto Sun that "nobody feels sorry for [Parker]," prompting questions about why Parker had been employed by the force before the shooting.

In March 2019, the SIU charged Det. Sgt. Donovan with attempted murder, aggravated assault, and assault with a weapon. Those charges were dropped by the Crown months later, citing a lack of reasonable prospect of conviction. The OPP, meanwhile, charged Cst. Parker with assaulting a peace officer, assault with intent to resist arrest, and assault with a weapon. The charges against Parker were also dropped after a brief trial after it was revealed that Donovan had inappropriately accessed case evidence — evidence he had from when he had been a defendant on the SIU charges. Donovan was subsequently charged with perjury in 2022.

That same year, Cst. Parker was charged with mischief under $5000 and assault by the Halton Regional Police Service in an unrelated road rage incident that occurred while Parker had been off-duty.

Line of duty deaths
Since the Service's incorporation in 1971, five Regional Police officers have died in the line of duty.

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 Niagara River, and lakes Ontario and Erie. Patrol of provincial highways in the region, such as the Queen Elizabeth Way, is handled by the Ontario Provincial Police, while patrol services on Niagara Parks Commission property are 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 NPC property.

Police services board
Like all municipalities in Ontario, the Regional Municipality of Niagara maintains a police services board, responsible for overseeing policing services in the Region. The board approves the police budget, hires the chief and deputy chiefs of police directly, and is the legal employer of every Niagara Regional Police employee. Although the board sets overall service policy and direction, it has no operational control over the service or its officers, and day-to-day policing decisions are the exclusive jurisdiction of the police chief.

The Board has 2 full-time employees, an executive director, and an executive assistant, and consists of seven members: the regional chair (or their designate); two regional councillors; one member of the public appointed by the regional council; and three members of the public appointed by the province. As of 2023, its members are:

Special constabularies
In addition to maintaining the Niagara Regional Police Service, the Board is responsible for approving and overseeing special constabularies that operate in the regional municipality. Currently, there are two special constabularies under the Board's jurisdiction, the Niagara Parks Police Service and the Brock University Campus Safety Services division. The Parks Police Service is unique among special constabularies in Ontario in that its members carry firearms and are trained alongside police officers at the Ontario Police College.

Districts
The Niagara Regional Police Service is divided into six districts, numbered 1-3, 5-6, and 8:

Headquarters and administrative offices are located at 5700 Valley Way, Niagara Falls, Ontario.

Support services are located on Welland Canals Parkway in St. Catharines.

2 District is also referred to as the Casino District.

Pipes and Drums Band
The Niagara Regional Police Pipe Band is a grade three pipe band based in Niagara Falls.

The band's pipe major 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 the fall of 2009.

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 offenses 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.

Underwater Search and Recovery 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, and 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.

Vehicle Fleet
An incomplete list of retired and current vehicles:

Vessel Fleet
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 lights. Older-style light bars were gradually phased out through attrition.

Niagara Regional Police Service marked patrol vehicles have historically been white. 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.