The Waterloo Regional Police Service (WRPS) provides policing services for the Regional Municipality of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada, which encompasses the cities of Waterloo, Kitchener, and Cambridge, as well as the townships of North Dumfries, Wellesley, Wilmot and Woolwich.
The WRPS was established in 1973, to replace the individual police departments in the region. The cities of Kitchener, Waterloo and Galt; the towns of Preston, Hespeler, Elmira and New Hamburg; the Village of Bridgeport and Waterloo Township had their own respective police department. The townships of Woolwich, Wellesley, Wilmot and North Dumfries were under the jurisdiction of the Ontario Provincial Police. In 1991 the Waterloo Regional Police Force was renamed to their current name.[1]
Organization
On July 15, 2014, Bryan Larkin was named chief of police. He replaced Matt Torigian, who had been chief of police since December, 2007. In 1991, to minimize the negativity associated with the word force, the department changed its name from "Waterloo Regional Police Force" to "Waterloo Regional Police Service".
Headquarters
The WRPS' headquarters is located at 200 Maple Grove Road on the border with Cambridge and Kitchener. This site was chosen as it is geographically centre to all the urban areas within the region. Waterloo Regional Police Headquarters has a museum in the lobby complete with old uniforms, equipment and information on the departments prior to 1973.
Operational patrol divisions
North - formerly Division 3 - 45 Columbia St. E., Waterloo
Central - formerly Division 1 - 134 Frederick St, Kitchener
South - formerly Division 2 - 176 Hespeler Rd, Cambridge
Rural North - formerly Division 3A- 13 Industrial Dr, Elmira
Rural South - formerly Division 1A- 34 Peel St, New Hamburg
Branches and divisions
The Waterloo Regional Police Service is made up of:
Patrol divisions
North Division - serving the City of Waterloo, and areas of Kitchener not served by Central Division
Central Division - serving the City of Kitchener (East of Victoria Street, south of Belmont Ave to Highland and south of Westmount to Highway 7/8)
South Division - serving the City of Cambridge, and areas of Kitchener (Doon South, Trillium Industrial Park, Parkway, Hidden Valley)
Rural North - serving Woolwich and Wellesley townships
Rural South - serving Wilmot and North Dumfries townships
All divisions have a criminal investigations branch.
Investigative services
Homicide
Major case unit
Fraud branch
Traffic services
Forensic identification
Domestic violence unit
Elder abuse
Traffic
Collision reporting centre
Technical crime unit
Strategic and tactical services (Division 7)
Special response unit
Drug branch
Intelligence
Support services
Communications branch
Records branch
Evidence management
Court services
Information technology
Community and corporate services
Community resources
Human resources
Training branch
Quality assurance
Policing standards
Public complaints
Executive office
Media relations
Emergency planning
Research and planning
Business planning
Shoulder flashes
Shoulder flashes are worn on the uniforms of Waterloo Regional Police officers.
Standard officer flash
Senior officer flash
Emergency response team black
Emergency response team green
Old shoulder flash
Fleet
Current vehicles in service
Ford Police Interceptor Sedan equipped with snowplow
Marked cruisers are white, with hood, trunk lid, front and rear quarter panels and bumpers painted navy blue. The text Waterloo Regional Police in silver retroreflective text with a navy blue outline appears on the sides of the vehicles. A distinct solid red line curves from the front, through to the rear of the vehicle, with the motto "People Helping People" and "911" on the rear quarter panel. A series of white horizontal stripes appear above and below the curved red stripe. The crest of the police service appears on the rear pillar as well. A Canadian flag in addition to any special designations for the vehicle, such as "supervisor", "traffic", "duty officer" are displayed on the front fender. On the rear of the cruiser, the text "Waterloo Regional Police" is displayed on the left side of the trunk lid, and the vehicle number and divisional designation (where applicable) on the right side. On the bumper appears the police service website (wrps.on.ca), along with the Crime Stoppers tip-line number encompassed by retroreflective chevrons. Affixed to the roof is a red and blue LED light bar, as well as several antennas for communication and GPS.
Officer ranks
The rank structure used by the WRPS is defined by regulations of Ontario's Police Services Act.
Chief of police (crown and three maple leaves)
Deputy chief (crown and two maple leaves)
Superintendent (crown)
Inspector (two maple leaves)
Staff sergeant (crown and three chevrons)
Sergeant (three chevrons)
Constable
The Waterloo Regional Police Service does not use the rank of staff superintendent or staff inspector.
Auxiliary unit
The Waterloo Regional Police Service also has an auxiliary unit, composed of approximately 75 unpaid civilian volunteers.[2] Auxiliary officers assist with special events, parades, as well as community programs.
