The Peel Regional Police (PRP) provides policing services for Peel Region (excluding Caledon) in Ontario, Canada. It is the second largest municipal police service in the Greater Toronto Area in Ontario, and the third largest municipal force behind the Toronto Police Service, with 2,200 uniformed members and close to 875 support staff. The Peel Regional Police serve approximately 1.48 million citizens of Mississauga and Brampton, located immediately west and northwest of Toronto, and provides law enforcement services at Toronto Pearson International Airport (located in Mississauga) which annually sees 50 million travelers. Although it is part of the Region of Peel, policing for the Town of Caledon which is north of Brampton, is the responsibility of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP). The village of Snelgrove was once part of Caledon but is now within Brampton and the jurisdiction of Peel Regional Police. The PRP also patrols the section of Highway 409 between the Peel-Toronto boundary line (immediately west of Highway 427) and Pearson Airport. Policing of all other 400-series highways that pass through the region, including highways 401, 403, 410, and 427 as well as the QEW freeway and the 407 ETR toll highway, are the responsibility of the OPP.

History

The Peel Regional Police were established in tandem with creating the Regional Municipality of Peel on January 1, 1974. The former law enforcement organizations of Brampton, Mississauga, Chinguacousy, Port Credit and Streetsville got merged into a single law enforcement organization known as the Peel Regional Police Service. The Toronto Township Police Department was formed in January 1944 and was later renamed "Mississauga Police Department" in 1968. The Port Credit Police Department was founded with the township's incorporation in 1909. The Streetsville Police Department was formed in 1858. The Brampton Police Department dates to 1873 when it was created to replace policing from Chinguacousy. The Chinguacousy Township Police traces its roots back to 1853. Areas north of Mayfield Road (except Snelgrove) were transferred to the OPP when the northern half of Chinguacousy became part of Caledon (the southern half becoming part of Brampton) in 1974. All the police departments merged into the Peel Regional Police Service in 1974. As of 2020, the Peel Regional Police have approximately 2,200 officers and 875 civilian support staff. Since the creation of this police force, six deaths have been recorded, five from traffic accidents (the latest in March 2010) and one from a stabbing in 1984.

Governance

The civilian Peel Regional Police Services Board governs the police service. The Board’s membership consists of three provincial appointees, a citizen appointee, and three others including the Mayors of Brampton and Mississauga (presently vacant due to resignation by the Mayor of Mississauga), and the Regional Council Chair. The council heads, as Board Chair and Vice Chair, are selected from among the other board members.

Command structure

The Peel Regional Police divide the region into five divisions. Major police stations are located in each division which smaller community police stations support. These provide residents with services to deal with traffic complaints, neighborhood disputes, minor thefts, community issues, landlord-tenant disputes, found property, and doubts or questions related to policing in the community.

11 Division

Commanded by Superintendent David Kennedy

12 Division

Commanded by Superintendent Robert Higgs The Marine Unit at 135 Lakefront Promenade is located in this division. The unit is responsible for 105 square kilometers of waterways, including Lake Ontario and rivers that run in the region using 3 boats. It was created in 1974 and inherited 1 boat from the Port Credit Police Department.

21 Division

Commanded by Superintendent Navdeep Chinzer

22 Division

Commanded by Superintendent Sean Gormley

Community divisions

Airport division

Currently commanded by Superintendent Robert Higgs, the airport division was established in 1997 following the departure of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). It consists of plainclothes officers, uniformed officers, unsworn staff, and the tactical unit at 2951 Convair Drive, Mississauga.

Headquarters

Rank structure

Uniform

As of January 2008, front-line officers wear dark navy blue shirts, cargo pants with a red stripe, and boots. Winter jackets are either black or reflective orange and yellow with the word police in white and blue at the back. Hats are standard forage caps with a red band. Yukon hats or embroidered toques are worn in the winter. Frontline officers wear dark-navy shirts, V-neck sweaters (optional during cold weather months), and side-pocket patrol pants ("cargo pants") with a red stripe (ranks of sergeant and higher wear a black stripe down their pant leg in place of red); and officers wear dark-navy rank slip-ons on the epaulets of their shirts, sweaters, and jackets with embroidered Canadian flags and badge numbers (in white) beneath on each (rank insignia above the flag for ranks above constable). Senior officers wear white shirts, dark navy pants (no side pocket) with a black stripe and dark navy jackets. Dark-navy V-neck sweaters are also worn. Senior officers wear gold collar brass (on the collar of their shirts) and dark-navy rank slip-ons on the epaulets of their shirts, sweaters, and jackets with embroidered Canadian flags, no badge numbers, and applicable rank insignia above the flag. The external carriers (body armor) officers wear are black with silver police on the back and an embroidered patch over the right pocket with the badge number embroidered in white. This is the only uniform item that is black. On dark navy V-neck sweaters, an embroidered patch is worn on the left chest with police in white. Officers' standard headdress is the forage (or peak) cap; the cap is dark navy with a black peak, red band, and silver cap badge (gold cap badge for senior officers). An optional Yukon hat (artificial fur hat) or uniform toque can be worn in the winter. Officers of the Sikh faith are permitted to wear uniform turbans (dark navy blue with red stripe and cap badge). The shoulder flash (embroidered patch) worn on each arm by officers ranked constable through staff sergeant has a white border, white lettering, black background, and colored seal of the Regional Municipality of Peel. The shoulder flash worn on each arm by senior officers (higher ranks) has a gold border, gold lettering, black background, and colored seal of the Regional Municipality of Peel.

Fleet

The Peel Regional Police Service has a fleet of over 500 vehicles including: All marked vehicles are painted white with three blue stripes, a change from the yellow standard used by GTA forces in the 1980s. In 2007, Peel Police spearheaded a campaign to amend provincial law to equip police cruisers with blue and red lights and deployed the first such cruiser in Ontario. As of 2008, new cruisers sport a single blue stripe. The force's logo moves forward along the stripe with the motto and phone number on the rear back door. Traffic enforcement has several vehicles that are not marked in the way described above. These vehicles are painted in a solid color, like most civilian vehicles, with the words Peel Regional Police applied in a semi-reflective decal in the same color as the vehicles' paint. Examples are cherry decals on red paint or charcoal decals on black paint.

Weapons

Uniform patrol Airport division & tactical rescue unit

Units

Traffic enforcement Investigation Special Community support

Awards

Peel Regional Police members are involved in fundraising for a variety of charities and community causes. They have annually raised over $1,000,000 for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and $140,000 through the "Cops for Cancer" program. They are also one of the region's largest donors to the United Way. Members of the force are involved in public service and volunteering throughout the community.

Misconduct allegations and convictions

2016 lawsuit against former Peel police chief, Jennifer Evans

Jennifer Evans and the Peel Police Service faced a 21 million dollar lawsuit alleging that they unlawfully interfered in the operation of the special investigations unit. Previously, Evans had faced numerous calls for resignation after refusing to stop carding and implementing body worn cameras for all the frontline police officers.

Other incidents

Shooting death of Michael Wade Lawson

On 8 December 1988, 17-year-old Michael Wade Lawson was shot to death by two Peel Regional Police Constables. Anthony Melaragni No. 1192 and Darren Longpre No. 1139 were both charged with second-degree murder and aggravated assault after a preliminary hearing; a jury later acquitted both. The officers claimed that the stolen vehicle driven by Lawson was approaching the officers head-on in a threatening manner, and they then discharged their firearms. An autopsy conducted by the Ontario Coroner's Office showed that the unarmed teenager was struck by a hollow-point bullet to the back of the head. This type of bullet was considered illegal at the time, as hollow-point bullets were not authorized for use by police officers in Ontario. Shortly after Lawson's death, the Attorney General of Ontario and the black Canadian community pressured the government to establish a race relations and policing task force. This task force made several recommendations, and the result led the provincial government to create a law enforcement oversight agency known as the Special Investigations Unit (S.I.U.) for conducting investigations and laying charges against police officers for their actions resulting in a civilian's injury or death.

Public complaints

The Peel Regional Police Public Complaints Investigation Bureau (PCIB) investigates all complaints made by the public regarding the actions and services provided by police officers. PCIB is a branch of the Professional Standards Bureau. ** In 2005, 158 public complaints were filed:** ** In 2004, 180 public complaints were filed:**