Hamilton Police Service
Hamilton Police Service | |
---|---|
Chief of Police May 7, 2021 — Present | |
Facilities | |
Station / Divisions | 3 |
Website | |
hamiltonpolice |
The Hamilton Police Service (HPS) is the
History
The Town of Hamilton was incorporated by Upper Canadian Parliament on February 13, 1833. On March 11 of that year, High Bailiff John Ryckman was appointed as Hamilton's first police officer.[3]
In 1848, neighbouring
On January 1, 1974,
In 1986, the
In 1999, Lincoln Alexander, Ontario's lieutenant governor from 1985 to 1991 and Canada's first Black Member of Parliament, was named honorary chief of police of the Hamilton-Wentworth Regional Police Force.[5] When Alexander passed in 2012, his casket was carried by members of the Hamilton Police Honour Guard.
On January 1, 2001, the communities of Ancaster, Dundas, Flamborough, Glanbrook, Stoney Creek and Hamilton were amalgamated to form the new single-tier City of Hamilton. At the same time, the Hamilton-Wentworth Regional Police Force was renamed and reorganized to become the Hamilton Police Service.[3]
In 2010, Hamilton Police Sgt. John Harris won the Blue Line Police Leadership Award, given annually to a particularly outstanding Canadian police officer.[6]
Coat of arms, flag and logo
Hamilton Police Service coat of arms
The Hamilton Police Service
- "On a hurt a maple leaf gules fimbriated or, all within a wreath of maple leaves or issuant from a trillium flower proper between two cinquefoils gules, the whole ensigned by the Royal Crown proper and in base a ribbon sable edged or inscribed Hamilton Police Service in letters argent;"
Symbolism
There are many symbolic meanings to various parts of the Hamilton Police Service coat of arms. The exterior frame of maple leaves, the trillium, and St. Edward’s Crown follow the traditional style of police coats of arms for a municipal police service in Canada. The police service has the responsibility of upholding the peace and the administration of justice under the Canadian Crown. The Royal Crown, at the top of the coat of arms, symbolizes the administration of Crown’s justice, while the laurel of maple leaves and trillium refer to Canada and Ontario respectively. The blue field represents the harbour of the City of Hamilton and the gold edges represent the city’s industry and wealth. The red maple leaf represents Canada. The two cinquefoils allude to the arms of the City of Hamilton in which such a cinquefoil also appears. The cinquefoil is taken from the arms of the Chief of Clan Hamilton, and it thus refers to the city's namesake. The coat of arms is included in the Public Register of Arms, Flags and Badges of Canada.[7]
Flag
- "Per bend sinister azure and gules a bend sinister or overall the badge;"
The symbolism of this emblem is found in other elements of this record
Consecration and trooping of the colours
It was on May 12, 2008, that a special event was planned to unveil the Hamilton Police Service Grant of Arms and the consecration and
Logo
The logo, similar to the heraldic crest, was developed by a police committee when the Hamilton-Wentworth Regional Police became the Hamilton Police Service. It is the logo that appears on marked patrol vehicles, signage, letterhead, etc.
- St. Edward's Crown
- ribbon containing the words Hamilton
- banner below with the words police
- within the ribbon:
- maple leaf: while representing Canada, the leaf has six facets, representing the six municipalities that formed the Hamilton-Wentworth Region (1974) and then later the amalgamated City of Hamilton (2001). Those municipalities in addition to Hamilton are Ancaster, Dundas, Flamborough, Glanbrook and Stoney Creek.
- wreath of golden maple leaves
- waves - representing the connection of the city to Lake Ontario and Hamilton Harbour
The blue oval at the top of the red maple leaf represents the Hamilton Harbour, the six veins of the red maple leaf represent the six former municipalities, the veins of the leaf extending into the blue oval illustrate inclusiveness of the community, the gold trim around the maple leaf represents the wealth of industry, natural resources, business and community partnerships, the two blue waves at the bottom of the leaf represent the vision to be the best and most progressive police service.
Organization
Police services board
Like all municipalities in Ontario, the City of Hamilton maintains a police services board, responsible for overseeing policing services in the City.[8] The board approves the police budget, hires the chief and deputy chiefs of police directly, and is the legal employer of every Hamilton Police employee.[8] 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 is composed of seven members: the mayor (or their designate); two city councillors; one member of the public appointed by city council; and three members of the public appointed by the province.[8] As of 2024, it consisted of:
Name | Position | Appointed by |
---|---|---|
Pat Mandy | Chair | Provincial Appointee |
Fred Bennink | Vice-chair | Provincial Appointee |
Andrea Horwath | Member | Hamilton City Council member |
Geordie Elms | Member | Provincial Appointee |
Cameron Kroetsch | Member | Hamilton City Council member |
Esther Pauls | Member | Hamilton City Council member |
Anjali Menezes | Member | Municipal Appointee |
Special constabularies
In addition to maintaining the Hamilton Police Service, the Board is responsible for approving and overseeing special constabularies that operate in the City. Currently, there is only one special constabulary operating in the City of Hamilton that falls under the jurisdiction of the Board, the McMaster University Campus Security Service.[9]
Historically, the Board was responsible for two other special constabularies in Hamilton: the Harbour Police and Parks Police. The Parks Police force was disbanded in 1963, in response to union-mandated wage hikes,[10] while the Harbour Police force was amalgamated into the Hamilton-Wentworth Regional Police Force in 1986.[4]
Rank structure
Rank | Commanding officers | Senior officers | Police officers | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chief of police | Deputy chief of police | Superintendent | Inspector | Staff sergeant | Sergeant | Constable | |||
Insignia
(slip-on) |
|||||||||
Insignia
(shoulder board) |
Shoulder boards not used for these ranks |
Criminal investigators for the Hamilton Police hold the ranks of Detective Constable and Detective Sergeant which are equivalent to Sergeant and Staff Sergeant, respectively.[11]
Unlike other Ontario police services, all Hamilton Police officers wear shields on their chest. Members at the rank of Sergeant and above have their rank listed on the badge in a blue oval, and members at the rank of Inspector and above have gold shields.
Divisions
The Hamilton Police Service operates out of three police stations: Central, which covers the northwestern portion of the old City of Hamilton; East End, which covers the southeastern portion of the old City of Hamilton and the entirety of the old Town of Stoney Creek; and Mountain, which covers the remainder of the amalgamated City of Hamilton.[12]
Specialized units
ACTION Team
The ACTION Team (Assessing Crime Trends In Our Neighbourhoods) was launched in 2010, in response to crime and safety concerns in downtown Hamilton.[13] The Team was later expanded to include five teams of seven officers,[14] and by 2016, had made 5 000 arrests and issued 23 000 tickets.[13] As of 2023, the Team is deployed across the City of Hamilton in response to safety concerns or crime spikes, and conducts patrols on foot or by bicycle.[15]
It has faced criticism for using a quota-based model for its policing strategy, and in 2015, five members of the team were charged criminally for making, counting, but never issuing bogus tickets to inflate their ticket statistics.[14] The Team's use of random street checks (popularly referred to as "carding") attracted particular criticism from community advocates and City councillors, who cited statistics that showed that racialized Hamiltonians were disproportionately carded by the Team.[16] The practice was banned by the provincial government in 2017.[17]
Auxiliary police unit
The auxiliary police were established in the early 1960s as a response to societal changes.[citation needed] Civil unrest throughout the world had the police service question its ability to deal with large-scale chaos. The principal goal was to create an auxiliary force made up of volunteer, unpaid officers who could be called upon to assist the regular force if problems were ever to arise. The auxiliary police are required to go through various training seminars, as well as maintain a high degree of physical fitness. Although in uniform, they function under very strict guidelines and do not substitute for regular officers. Instead, they assist in the processes when constables required a large, organized support.
The auxiliary police work at parades or during long weekends, at rallies, or large events where police presence is required on a larger scale than usual. They are identified with a shoulder flash that says 'auxiliary'. They also wear a traditional light-blue shirt whereas sworn officers wear navy blue uniforms.
Canine
The first known record of dogs being used in policing the Hamilton community was in 1878, when an old stray dog the officers named "Bob" was taken in and routinely brought on night patrol to accompany an officer named Constable Ferris on his beat. Bob was not trained for special tasks, but often acted as a deterrent to those who had the potential to create trouble.[citation needed]
In 1960 the Hamilton Police Department acquired two dogs with the intent of training them for special circumstances. Hamilton Police had the second municipal canine unit in Canada. Their names were Sandy and King.[
The dogs train with a constable who is responsible for the dog both on and off the job. They live with officers' families which allows a constant relationship between the dogs and their handlers to develop. Much of the time, the dogs are in training to maintain the skills they have acquired. Today Hamilton Police deploy four police service dogs (PSD). Each dog is trained in human scent detection and tracking. PSDs are also used for drug detection, firearms and currency. Hamilton Police also deploy a PSD for explosives detection.[citation needed]
Hamilton has had one PSD killed in the line of duty - PSD Troy killed February 25, 1992 (shot by a suspect during an apprehension).[citation needed]
Crisis response
The Crisis Response Unit consists of three specialized units that respond to different niches of social disorder: the Crisis Support & Outreach Team; the Mobile Crisis Rapid Response Team; and the Social Navigation Program.[18]
The Crisis Support & Outreach Team (COAST) is a partnership between the Hamilton Police Service, Halton Regional Police Service, and St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton, and serves residents in need of long-term mental health supports. The Team is responsible for connecting clients to care options, helping clients complete mental health assessments in partnership with police, and providing urgent, over-the-phone crisis support to the client and their caregivers and family members.[19]
Like COAST, the Mobile Crisis Rapid Response Team is a partnership between the Hamilton Police Service, Halton Regional Police Service, and St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton, and is responsible for responding to urgent crisis calls made to 9-1-1 between the hours of 8 AM and 4 AM, seven days a week.[20] The teams consist of a uniformed, specially-trained officer and a mental health professional responding together in a marked police cruiser.[21] After the teams attend an incident, clients are connected to COAST for follow-up care.[20]
The Social Navigation Program is a partnership between the Police Service and the Hamilton Paramedic Service, and is responsible for providing street support to marginalized and homeless Hamiltonians.[22] The program connects clients with long-term care and services in partnership with a variety of social service providers in an effort to reduce the load on the judicial and hospital system.[18] Unlike COAST, however, the program connects with clients at the point of police contact, as opposed to at the client's request.
Emergency response
During the
In September 1975, the chief issued a policy and procedure to deal with armed and barricaded persons. On Monday, November 3, 1975, Paul Lariviere of Champlain St., Hamilton, exchanged gunfire with Hamilton Police from his residence. An officer who had a revolver eventually killed him. Lariviere was found to have two rifles in his apartment.[citation needed] This incident was a catalyst for the Hamilton Police Service to form a specialized unit. On November 8, 1975, a decision was made by Chief Torrance to form a tactical unit that would begin training in January 1976. The unit was to be based on the concept of the New York City Police Department SWAT. The unit was known as "TEAM" which stood for ‘tactical emergency assault men’.[citation needed]
The mandate of the TEAM was to attain a peaceful ending to police calls involving hostage-taking, gun and other weapon-related incidents. Five TEAM officers were initially sent to the Anti-Sniper and Survival School at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia. They also took on the responsibility of explosives disposal (EDU) and received this training through the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The fifteen-man unit became operational on June 13, 1976. When the first female officer became a member of the unit, the name was changed to the emergency response unit (ERU). ERU members are trained to handle a variety of weapons, deal with dangerous, high-risk situations, and are utilized when entering a premises for the execution of search warrants.[citation needed]
Marine
The Marine Unit was established in 1921 as the Hamilton Harbour Police, an unarmed
In 1996, the Hamilton-Wentworth Regional Police entered into an agreement with the neighbouring Halton Regional Police Service to share a marine unit. This agreement was terminated in 2008, and the Halton Regional Police moved its marine unit to the Bronte Harbour.[citation needed]
Today, the Unit is responsible for patrolling the Hamilton Harbour, the entirety of the City's waterfront, and all inland waterways.[23] The Unit actively patrols from mid-April until mid-November. In the off-season, it responds to calls for service on an as-requested basis.
In 2011, the Unit, with assistance from the Halton Regional Police, rescued a group of high-school rowers caught in a freak storm.[24] Five Hamilton Police officers received the Rescue of the Year award from the Canadian Safe Boating Council for their work.[25]
Mounted patrol
The mounted patrol unit (MPU) was formed in September 2009 and consists of five horses and six officers.[citation needed] The priorities of the MPU are to heighten the service’s ability to accomplish:
- crime prevention
- manage entertainment districts
- conduct search and rescue
- provide park and trail safety
- public safety during large scale festivals and events, protests and demonstrations
MPU offers coverage throughout the city of Hamilton with rotating day, afternoon and night shifts.
Equipment
Fleet
Motor vehicles
Make/model | Type | Status | Origin |
---|---|---|---|
Ford police interceptor | (marked) General patrol vehicle, traffic enforcement | Canada | |
Ford Taurus | (marked) General patrol vehicle, traffic enforcement | United States | |
Ford Explorer | (marked) General patrol vehicle | United States | |
Dodge Charger (LX)
|
(marked) General patrol vehicle, traffic enforcement | Canada | |
Harley-Davidson FLHTP
|
Police motorcycle | United States |
Support vehicles
Make/model | Type | Status | Origin |
---|---|---|---|
Dodge Mercedes-Benz Sprinter | Van—collision reconstruction, forensics | Germany | |
Ford ambulance | Former City of Hamilton EMS converted to forensics lab
|
United States | |
GMC Savanna
|
Van—emergency response unit | United States | |
Chevrolet Express van | Van-emergency response unit | United States | |
Ford Explorer | (un-marked) Canine unit | United States | |
Ford Expedition | (un-marked) Canine unit | retired | United States |
Chevrolet Silverado | SUV—marine unit | United States | |
F350
|
pickup truck with horses trailer — mounted mnit | United States | |
F-550 chassis
|
Tactical armoured vehicle—emergency response unit | Canada | |
Ford F-series or GMC Vandura trucks | Prisoner transportation services court wagons | Canada | |
Ford van | van RIDE | United States |
Marine unit vessels
Unit No. | Make/model | Type | Status | Origin |
---|---|---|---|---|
Marine II | Zodiac Pro 870 | 28' rigid-hulled inflatable boat patrol and rescue vessel.
|
United States | |
Marine III | Bombard Commando C4 | 14' rigid-hulled inflatable boat with 30 hp mercury outboard
|
France | |
Argo | ARGO (ATV manufacturer)
|
All-terrain amphibious vehicle | Canada | |
ROV | VideoRay UROVs Pro 3 | Remotely operated underwater vehicle | United States |
Aircraft
Make/model | Type | Status | Origin |
---|---|---|---|
Bell JetRanger | Helicopter | 1999 pilot project shared with Halton Regional Police Service & Peel Regional Police. | Canada |
Bicycles
Make/model | Type | Origin |
---|---|---|
Norco Bicycles | mountain bike RETIRED | Canada |
Aquila Bicycle Company | mountain bike RETIRED | Canada |
Specialized Bicycle Components | mountain bike RETIRED | United States |
Cannondale Bicycle Corporation
|
mountain bike RETIRED | United States |
Kona Bicycle Company | mountain bike RETIRED | Canada |
Trek Bicycle Company
|
mountain bike RETIRED | Canada |
Stevenson Bicycle Company | mountain bike RETIRED | Canada |
Scott's Bicycle Company | mountain bike (2017 to present) | Canada |
Trek Bicycle Company
|
mountain bike (2022 to present) | Canada |
Weapons
In the 1990s, the majority of
These firearms replaced the aging
Other
The emergency response unit (ERU) members are issued Glock handguns with
- Tikka T3 .308
- Sako TRG .308 sniper rifle
- 37 mm flare gas gun
- Ruger Mini-14 RETIRED
- Steyr AUG assault rifle RETIRED
- MP5A3 9 mm submachine gun RETIRED
- Remington 870shotgun
- Remington Model 770 rifle
- Diemaco C8 carbine
- Taser International M18 taser
- Taser International X26 taser
- Pepper spray (OC spray)
- Tear gas (CS gas)
- bean bagsrounds
- ARWEN 37 37 mm riot gun (and AR-1 plastic baton rounds, may also be available to the public order unit (POU) for crowd/riot control)
See also
- Hamilton Fire Department
- Hamilton Paramedic Service
- Hamilton Police Pipe Band
- Paul Manning
- Evelyn Dick
- Rocco Perri
- Musitano Crime Family
References
- ^ "About HPS". Hamilton Police Service. Retrieved 2021-12-16.
- ^ "Hamilton police want $12M more than last year's $183M budget". CBC News. Retrieved 2021-12-16.
- ^ a b c d e "HPS History". Hamilton Police Service.
- ^ a b c d "Cops on the Water: The Rise and Fall of the Hamilton Harbour Police". Bruce Forsyth.
- ^ Wells, Jon (October 20, 2012). "Lincoln Alexander dies at 90". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on 23 October 2015. Retrieved October 21, 2012.
- ^ Clairmont, Susan (1 December 2012). "Sgt. John Harris: A salute to a cop's cop". The Hamilton Spectator. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
- ^ General, The Office of the Secretary to the Governor. "Hamilton Police Service [Civil Institution]". reg.gg.ca. Retrieved 2019-07-24.
- ^ a b c "Police Services Board". Hamilton Police Service.
- ^ "About Us". McMaster University Security Services.
- ^ "The rise and fall of the Hamilton Parks Police". Bruce Forsyth.
- ^ "Police Services Act O. Reg. 268/10, s. 8". 24 July 2014.
- ^ "Patrol Divisions". Hamilton Police Service.
- ^ a b "What is the future of Hamilton Police's ACTION team?". CBC News.
- ^ a b "5 Hamilton police officers charged in fake ticket scandal". CBC News.
- ^ "ACTION". Hamilton Police Service.
- ^ "Carding and 'cleaning up' the core: Hamilton's ACTION team". CBC News.
- ^ "New Ontario rule banning carding by police takes effect". CBC News.
- ^ a b "Community Mobilization Division". Hamilton Police Service.
- ^ "COAST Services". Crisis Outreach and Support Team.
- ^ a b "Mobile Crisis Rapid Response Team". St Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton.
- ^ "Mobile Crisis Rapid Response Team (MCRRT)". Crisis Outreach and Support Team.
- ^ "Stories from the front line of Hamilton's social navigator program". Hamilton Spectator.
- ^ "Marine Unit". Hamilton Police Service.
- ^ "Police officers honoured for bravery in harbour rescue". Hamilton Spectator.
- ^ "Past Winners". Canadian Safe Boating Council.