The Niagara Parks Police Service provides policing services for the

Niagara Parks Commission The Niagara Parks Commission, commonly shortened to Niagara Parks, is an agency of the Government of Ontario which maintains the Ontario shoreline of the Niagara River. History The Commission was founded in 1885 and charged with preserving and ...

Niagara Falls Niagara Falls () is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the border between the province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York in the United States. The largest of the three is Horseshoe Fall ...

Niagara-on-the-Lake Niagara-on-the-Lake is a town in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the Niagara Peninsula at the point where the Niagara River meets Lake Ontario, across the river from New York, United States. Niagara-on-the-Lake is in the Niagara Region of ...

and

Fort Erie Fort Erie is a town on the Niagara River in the Niagara Region, Ontario, Canada. It is directly across the river from Buffalo, New York, and is the site of Old Fort Erie which played a prominent role in the War of 1812. Fort Erie is one o ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

. First established in 1887, the Niagara Parks Police Service is one of the oldest police services in Canada.

Overview

Officers of Niagara Parks Police are designated Special Constables who have been conferred the full powers of a police officer and like all police officers in the Province of Ontario, receive their Basic Constable Training at the Ontario Police College in Aylmer. The service is primarily responsible for approximately 3274 acres of parkland along 56 kilometers of highway owned and operated under the

; however, the

Niagara Regional Police The Niagara Regional Police Service (NRPS) provides policing services for the Regional Municipality of Niagara in the Canadian province of Ontario. The NRPS was established on January 1, 1971, and is the oldest regional police service in Ontario. ...

maintain jurisdictional authority over all areas of the

Niagara Region The Regional Municipality of Niagara, also colloquially known as the Niagara Region or Region of Niagara, is a regional municipality comprising twelve municipalities of Southern Ontario, Canada. The regional seat is in Thorold. It is the southe ...

, including the Niagara Parks. The appointment authority for the Niagara Parks Police is given by the Niagara Regional Police Services Board and by the Ministry of Community Safety and Corrections of Ontario, and must be renewed every five years. The Niagara Parks Police are fully funded from the budget of the

, an agency of the Province of Ontario, and operate with an annual budget of approximately $3.6 million. In addition to general uniformed patrol, the Niagara Parks Police employ three specialized units: The High Angle River Team (HART), which consists of officers specially trained in high angle rescue techniques and who have been responsible for the rescue of numerous tourists, stuntmen, and mentally disturbed individuals since its inception; the Marine Unit which, along with the Niagara Regional Police Service patrols both the upper and lower Niagara Rivers; and, as of 2011, the Niagara Parks Police have established their first Canine Unit consisting of one handler and his dog "Nia" trained in search and rescue and explosives detection. In summer 2013, K-9 Nia retired due to a chronic illness which prevented her from continuing as an active police dog. In September 2013 new police K-9 Cinder began his training as Nia's replacement. The Niagara Parks Police are responsible for, but not limited to, the following: * Discretionary enforcement of the

Criminal Code A criminal code (or penal code) is a document that compiles all, or a significant amount of a particular jurisdiction's criminal law. Typically a criminal code will contain offences that are recognised in the jurisdiction, penalties that migh ...

Controlled Drugs and Substances Act The ''Controlled Drugs and Substances Act'' (french: Loi réglementant certaines drogues et autres substances) (the ''Act'') is Canada's federal drug control statute. Passed in 1996 under Prime Minister Jean Chrétien's government, it repeals ...

, Highway Traffic Act, Trespass to Property Act, Liquor License Act. * Management of the vehicle and pedestrian traffic throughout the Niagara Parks. * Maintaining the peace * Ensuring the safe return of lost and found property to its rightful owners During peak tourist season the Parks Police employ approximately thirty students, most of whom are participants in local law and security courses. These unarmed members hold the designation of Provincial Offenses Officer and are primarily responsible for the orderly flow of traffic and parking offenses. In 2010, the Niagara Parks Police faced the possibility of disbandment as they were embroiled in a provincial challenge to the way special constables are viewed and concerns surrounding their use of firearms. However, after months of debate, an official agreement was reached to renew the Service's Special Constable Status, allowing it to continue operating without change.

Chiefs of Police

There have been 15 Chiefs of Police since the formation of the Niagara Parks Police in 1887. The current Chief of the Niagara Parks Police Service is Paul Forcier http://www.iheartradio.ca/610cktb/news/new-chief-named-for-niagara-parks-police-1.9193277, who replaced the terminated Mark McMullen who was a Superintendent with the Niagara Regional Police Service. https://www.niagaraparks.com/media-room/releases/mark-mcmullen-named-niagara-parks-police-chief/ # William Bowman (1887–1904) # James Wilcox (1904-1908) # Joseph Vandersluys (1908-1913) # J. Harrison Plw (1913-1920) # John Jackson (1920-1924) # Charles Atcherly (1924-1940) # Cyril Bratley (1940-1957) # Edwin Rehfeld (1957-1967) # Wilfred J. Derbyshire (1967-1993) # Raymond G. Vassallo (1993-2003) # Timothy Berndt (2003-2008) # Douglas Kane (2008-2013) # Carl Scott (2013–2017) # Mark McMullen (2017-2019) # Paul Forcier (2019- )

Ranks

Uniform

Sworn constables wear traditional police navy blue uniform shirts and cargo pants with red stripe while student Provincial Offences Officers wear a light blue uniform shirts. Jackets are dark navy blue and headgear consists of traditional police cap some times replaced with a ball cap, both bearing the Niagara Parks Police Crest. Yellow reflective vests are worn by traffic officers.

Equipment

Although the Niagara Parks Police are Special Constables, the sworn full-time officers are among the few Special Constables in Canada authorized to carry firearms on top of other standard equipment such as handcuffs, telescopic baton, pepper spray, two way radios, similar to that of other police services across Canada. Seasonal Provincial Offences Officers are not trained or authorized to carry any form of

use of force The use of force, in the context of law enforcement, may be defined as the "amount of effort required by police to compel compliance by an unwilling subject". Use of force doctrines can be employed by law enforcement officers and military pers ...

equipment and therefore carry only two way radios for communication.

Headquarters

The Niagara Parks Police Headquarters is located at 6075 Niagara Parkway,

Niagara Falls, Ontario Niagara Falls is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is on the western bank of the Niagara River in the Golden Horseshoe region of Southern Ontario, with a population of 88,071 at the Canada 2016 Census, 2016 census. It is part of the List of census ...

, directly across from the American Falls in the former Administrative Building of the

Fleet

Vehicles

* Unmarked

Ford Explorer The Ford Explorer is a range of SUVs manufactured by Ford Motor Company since the 1991 model year. The first four-door SUV produced by Ford, the Explorer was introduced as a replacement for the two-door Bronco II. Within the current Ford lig ...

- Chief of Police's vehicle * 20 ft Medeiros Patrol Boat *

Ford Police Interceptor Utility The Ford Explorer is a range of SUVs manufactured by Ford Motor Company since the 1991 model year. The first four-door SUV produced by Ford, the Explorer was introduced as a replacement for the two-door Bronco II. Within the current Ford light ...

- Canine Unit * Ford F150 pickup - Canine Unit * Chevy Silverado crew cab pickup - High Angle River Team * Harley Davidson Motorcycle * BMW F 650 GS motorcycle * GMC Canyon - Provincial Offences Officer

Bicycles

* 10

Giant Bicycles Giant Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (commonly known as Giant) is a Taiwanese bicycle manufacturer, recognized as the world's largest bicycle designer and manufacturer. Giant has manufacturing facilities in Taiwan, the Netherlands, China, and Hungary. ...

Past vehicles

GMC Jimmy The Chevrolet Blazer is an automobile nameplate used by General Motors for its Chevrolet brand since 1969 for several SUV models: * Full-size Chevrolet K5 Blazer, based on the C/K pickup chassis and built from 1969 to 1995 (renamed Blazer in ...

Jeep Cherokee The Jeep Cherokee is a line of SUVs manufactured and marketed by Jeep over five generations. Originally marketed as a variant of the Jeep Wagoneer, the Cherokee has evolved from a full-size SUV to one of the first compact SUVs and into its c ...

* Dodge Diplomat cruisers *

Ford Crown Victoria The Ford Crown Victoria ("Crown Vic") is a full-size sedan that was marketed and manufactured by Ford. The successor to the Ford LTD Crown Victoria, two generations of the model line were produced from the 1992 to 2012 model years. The Fo ...

LTD cruiser * GMC Vandura vans *

Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor The Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor (colloquially referred to as the CVPI, P71, or P7B) is a four-door, body-on-frame sedan that was manufactured by Ford from 1992 to 2011. It is the police car version of the Ford Crown Victoria, and w ...

* Chevy Tahoe * Ford Police Interceptor Sedan *

Ford Escape The Ford Escape is a compact crossover SUV sold by Ford since 2000 over four generations. The first generation was jointly developed with Mazda which also created the Mazda Tribute and Mercury Mariner as the twin model. Second generations of t ...

References

External links

* {{Law enforcement agencies in Canada Law enforcement agencies of Ontario Regional Municipality of Niagara Niagara Falls, Ontario Government agencies established in 1887 1887 establishments in Ontario Niagara Parks Commission