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The 'Ontario Provincial Police' ('O.P.P.') is the Provincial Police force for the province of Ontario, Canada.

Contents

Overview

History

Organization and operations

Training

Rank

Superintendents and Commissioners of the OPP

Fleet

Contact phone numbers

OPP in pop culture

The Beatles folklore

See also

External links

Sources

Overview

The OPP is the largest police force in Ontario and the second largest in Canada. The service is responsible for providing policing services throughout the province in areas lacking local police forces. It also provides specialized support to smaller municipal police forces, investigates province-wide and cross-jurisdictional crimes, patrols provincial highways (including Ontario's 400-Series Highways) and is responsible for many of the waterways in the province. The OPP also works with other provincial agencies, including the Ministry of Transportation and Ministry of Natural Resources to enforce highway safety and conservation regulations, respectively. Finally, OPP officers provide security at the Ontario Legislature at Queen's Park in Toronto.
The OPP is one of three provincial police forces in Canada. The others are the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary in Newfoundland and Labrador and the Sûreté du Québec.

History

At the First Parliament of Upper Canada on September 17, 1792, at Niagara-on-the-Lake, provision was made for the formation of a 'police system'. Initially, policing jurisdictions were limited to districts, townships, and parishes. In 1871, four years after Confederation, the Constables' Act extended jurisdiction and gave designated police members authorization to act throughout the province. The first salaried Provincial Constable appointed to act as Detective for the Government of Ontario was John Wilson Murray (1840-1906), hired in 1875. Murray was joined by two additional detectives in 1897, marking the beginnings of the Criminal Investigation Branch. However, for the most part, policing outside of Ontario's cities was non-existent.
With the discovery of silver in Cobalt and gold in Timmins, lawlessness was increasingly becoming a problem in northern Ontario. Police constables were gradually introduced in various areas, until an Order-In-Council decreed the establishment of a permanent organization of salaried constables designated as The Ontario Provincial Police on October 13, 1909. It consisted of 45 men under the direction of Superintendent Joseph E. Rogers. The starting salary for constables was $400.00 per annum, increased to $900.00 in 1912. The first O.P.P. detachment was located in Bala, Ontario.
In 1921, restructuring was undertaken with the passing of the Provincial Police Force Act. The title of the commanding officer was changed to Commissioner and given responsibility for enforcing the provisions of the Ontario Temperance Act and other liquor regulations. Major-General Henry M. Cawthra-Elliot was appointed as the first Commissioner. Julian Fantino, the current O.P.P. Commissioner, took office in October 2006, succeeding Gwen M. Boniface.
The O.P.P.'s first line of duty death occurred in 1923 when escaped convict Leo Rogers shot and killed Sergeant John Urquhart near North Bay. Rogers had already mortally wounded North Bay City Constable Fred Lefebvre. He was later killed in a shootout with O.P.P. officers.
The first O.P.P. motorcycle patrol was introduced in 1928, phased out in 1942 and then reintroduced in 1949. The first marked O.P.P. patrol car was introduced in 1941.
During World War II, the Veterans Guard was formed. This was a body of volunteers (primarily World War I veterans), under the supervision of regular police members, protected vulnerable hydro-electric plants and the Welland Ship Canal.
Women joined the uniform ranks in 1974.
In 1985, the O.P.P. uniform was made more distinctive with the introduction of a blue trouser stripe to match a blue peak cap band.
In 1995, General Headquarters moved into its new facility in Orillia and for the first time in the history of the organization, all Bureaus were in one building.

Organization and operations

The Ontario Provincial Police is responsible for providing policing services over one million km² of land and 174,000 km² of water to a population of 2.3 million people (3.6 million in the summer months). Currently, the O.P.P. has over 5,300 uniformed and 2,300 civilian personnel. The vehicle fleet consists of 2,290 vehicles, 114 marine vessels, 286 snow and all-terrain vehicles, 2 helicopters and 1 fixed-wing aircraft.
The province is divided into six operational regions:

★ Central (headquartered in Orillia)

★ East (headquartered in Smiths Falls)

★ Greater Toronto (headquartered in Aurora)

★ North-East (headquartered in North Bay)

★ North-West (headquartered in Thunder Bay)

★ West (headquartered in London)
Field and operational services are provided from 163 police stations and satellite locations throughout Ontario. OPP stations are called "detachments."
The OPP General Headquarters are located in Orillia. Prior to 1995, the administration and headquarters divisions operated out of a number of buildings in Toronto. Operations were moved to Orillia as part of a government move to decentralize ministries and operations to other parts of Ontario.

Training

Recruits attend the Ontario Police College in Aylmer, Ontario and complete their training at OPP facilities in Orillia. Historically, new recruits were trained in a variety of facilities in and around Toronto until the OPP Training and Development Centre was opened in Brampton in 1981. It remained in operation until 1998, when training moved to the Orillia headquarters.

Rank

Rank Structure within the OPP is paramilitary or quasi-military in nature, with several 'non-commissioned' ranks leading to the 'officer' ranks. Contrary to popular belief, the Detective ranks fall laterally with the uniform ranks and is not a promotion above.

★ Cadet - A special placement for those attempting to become a full-time OPP constable. It is not an official first rank, as initial Constables are not Cadets first.

★ Constable (Detective Constable) - Beginning from 4th Class up to 1st Class (for payscale only), this is the common rank of the OPP.

★ Senior Constable - This rank is no longer used within the OPP.

★ Sergeant (Detective Sergeant)(Traffic Sergeant)

★ Staff Sergeant (Detective Staff Sergeant)(Traffic Staff Sergeant)

★ Sergeant Major (Highest 'non-commissioned' rank)

★ Inspector (Detective Inspector)

★ Staff Inspector

★ Superintendent

★ Staff Superintendent

★ Chief Superintendent

★ Provincial Commander

★ Deputy Commissioner

★ Commissioner - this is the title of the head of the force

The OPP has among its many initiatives an auxiliary program designed especially for citizens interested in getting first-hand experience in the organization. It is a volunteer program where selected citizens receive special training in order to assist provincial constables in their duty. It also serves as a stepping stone for potential future employment with the OPP. The O.P.P. Auxiliary has 830 volunteers and is the largest police auxiliary unit in Canada.

Superintendents and Commissioners of the OPP

See Commissioner of the Ontario Provincial Police.

Fleet

In 2007, the OPP announced that it would return to a black-and-white colour scheme for its police cruisers. Historically, the force had used black-and-white vehicles from the introduction of the first marked police cars in 1941 to 1989 when all-white cars with blue and gold striping were introduced. The change will be implemented starting in March 2007 and should be complete by 2009. Cars will not be repainted, but new vehicles purchased will have the new colour scheme.
The OPP has approximately 1,200 patrol cars in service throughout the province. Common models include the Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor, Chevrolet Impala and Dodge Charger. Various vans and SUVs are used as support vehicles. Harley Davidson FL motorcycles are used for traffic patrol in the summer months. Other vehicles and equipment include:

★ Two Eurocopter Ecureuil S355F2R TwinStar helicopters

★ One Pilatus PC12/45

★ LIMESTONE 350 Chevrolet Engine marine vessel

★ Harbourcraft 17 / 19' marine vessels

★ LOWE Sea Nymph 25 hp Mercury marine vessel

★ Seaswirl 21' - 24' marine vessels

★ Hike Marine launches in various lengths ranging from 19' - 32' and based on Georgian Bay,and the Great Lake areas.
The implimentation of the SAVE Units has brought ATV's into the forefront of proactive policing of recreational activities.

★

Contact phone numbers

1-888-310-1122 allows callers to contact the nearest OPP Communications Centre from anywhere in Ontario.
★ 677 (star OPP) performs the same function for cell phones, but does not work with all cell phone providers.

OPP in pop culture

Canadian rock musician Kim Mitchell regularly wore a baseball cap with the O.P.P. logo on it.

The Beatles folklore

The 1967 The Beatles Album, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, contains cover art with Paul McCartney wearing an OPP patch on his fictional uniform (more easily seen in the gatefold picture). The patch was given to John Lennon the day after their 1966 concert in Toronto, by a summer student working in the garage of the OPP Headquarters; when the Beatles were being transferred to a police van for the trip to the airport.
Many "Paul Is Dead" enthusiasts have misread the patch as "OPD" (the way the patch was slightly bent on McCartney's sleeve in the gatefold picture, the bottom of the "P" was not visible) and took it to mean "Officially Pronounced Dead."

See also

★ Auxiliary Constable

★ Cam Woolley

★ Dudley George

External links

★ Ontario Provincial Police Website

★ Road Watch, was started by the Caledon, Ontario Provincial Police detachment.

Sources

Barnes, Michael. ''Policing Ontario: The OPP Today.'' Erin, ON: Boston Mills Press, 1991. ISBN 1-55046-015-3.