The Ottawa Police Service (OPS; French: Service de police d'Ottawa) is the municipal police service of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The OPS serves an area of 2,790 square kilometres and 1,017,449 (2021 census) people, alongside several other police forces which have specialized jurisdiction.
History
The OPS can trace its origins to the "Bytown Association", formed in 1847.[1] In 1855 Roderick Ross was the first chief constable for the newly-formed City of Ottawa. Over time, neighbouring municipalities also formed their own police forces, including Eastview in 1913 (became the Vanier Police in 1963) and Gloucester-Nepean in 1957 (split into separate Nepean and Gloucester Police in 1964). As a precursor to future amalgamations, the Vanier Police were absorbed by the Ottawa Police in 1984.
In 1995, the Ottawa, Nepean, and Gloucester police forces amalgamated to form the Ottawa-Carleton Regional Police Service. The jurisdiction of the new force was extended to portions of Ottawa-Carleton that had previously been under the jurisdiction of the Ontario Provincial Police.
The modern Ottawa Police Service was formed in 2001 following the amalgamation of Ottawa-Carleton's constituent municipalities into Ottawa.[2]
Over the course of Ottawa's history, the police forces have had 14 officers killed in the line of duty.[3]
Policing philosophy
The OPS, takes a community-oriented approach to policing.[4] The Neighbourhood Resource Team (NRT) program was created to deploy frontline constables into high-crime and high-traffic areas. After the closure of the OPS school resource officer program, NRT gained a new youth subdivision intended to engage with at-risk youth outside of the education system. The PIVOT team works to combat guns and gangs within Ottawa through a strategic deployment to certain communities.
Frontline OPS constables are expected to prioritize community interaction, which is a different approach from traditional law enforcement.
Community policing is displayed in many OPS units. Frontline and NRT constables are expected to make connections with citizens and businesses in the areas they serve. This in turn, creates a more trusting environment all-around.
The OPS was the first police service in Canada to include a Hate Crimes investigative branch.
On Friday, October 21st, 2022, Ottawa Police Service Board Chair announced RCMP Assistant Commissioner Eric Stubbs would become Ottawa’s next Chief of Police effective November 17th, 2022.
Rank
Commanding officers
Senior officers
Police officers
Chief of police
Deputy chief of police
Superintendent
Inspector
Staff sergeant
Sergeant
First class constable
Second class constable
Third class constable
Fourth class constable
Insignia
(slip-on)
Insignia
(shoulder board)
Shoulder boards not used for these ranks
The rank of senior constable is no longer awarded, however the rank is still in effect until the last senior constable retires. To have become a senior constable, an officer had to have had ten years service and have successfully completed the sergeant's promotional exam.[7]
With very rare exceptions, all police officers receive their three-month police training and basic constables diplomas at the Ontario Police College, located in Aylmer, Ontario.
New police recruits are hired as 4th class constables, and without any training or discipline issues, can expect to reach the rank of 1st class constable within 5 years. A 1st class constable has a base salary pretax of approximately $96,000, not including overtime and off-duty court time. This pay rate is the norm compared to other police services found within Ontario and generally the Ottawa Police Service falls within the top five highest paid services in the province.
The OPS also maintains a Ceremonial Guard to attend the many community events and parades that occur in Ottawa as a representative of the police service,[8] and the Ottawa Police Service Pipe Band, which competes every season in the Ontario pipe band circuit, most notably finishing as Ontario Championship Supreme in grade 2 in 2012.[9]
Inter-agency relationships
Security services at Parliament Hill and the parliamentary district in Ottawa are handled by the Parliamentary Protective Service[10] (PPS) and Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), not the OPS. The RCMP generally do not play a role in municipal police operations in Ottawa, with the exception of federal land managed by the National Capital Commission. Under federal and provincial law, the RCMP have jurisdiction over the entire city but maintain a mandate of diplomatic engagements, federal land, and the carriage rides.
The OPS provides law enforcement services at Ottawa Macdonald–Cartier International Airport and is also authorized to act on behalf of Ottawa Macdonald–Cartier International Airport Authority to provide certain security services. Before the 1997 semi-privatization of Class 1 Canadian airports, these services were provided by the RCMP to Transport Canada.
In April 2007, the Ottawa Police Services Board granted special constable status to transit law enforcement officers employed by OC Transpo. The OPS works in partnership with transit special constables who provide many frontline supplemental police services in cooperation with the Ottawa Police.
In the same way, some of the safety personnel of Carleton University are sworn as special constables and hold limited police powers on campus grounds.
Operations
The OPS has five police stations and 19 community policing centres.[11]
Patrol operations
East division
Central division
West division
Criminal investigative services
Homicide Unit
Arson Unit
Sexual assault and child abuse section
Partner assault section
Organized auto theft
Guns and gangs unit
Fraud section
Elder abuse section
General investigative services
Break and enter response
Victim crisis unit
Direct action response team (DART)
Street crime unit
Diversity, race and relations unit
Internet child exploitation unit (ICE)
Drug unit
Forensic identification section
Human Trafficking and Offender Management (Human Trafficking, Missing Persons, Sex Offender Registry, Dangerous/Long Term Offender, Threat Evaluation and Offender Management, Major Case Management/ViClas)
Support services
911 communications
Court security and temporary custody: this section is responsible for prisoner security. The unit is staffed with police officers and special constables. Special constables are sworn-in pursuant to section 53 of Police Services Act which confers peace officer status. Special constables have the powers of a police officer when in the execution of their duties.
Victim services
Telephone response unit: call takers for minor crimes with no investigative leads
Imaging services unit
Ottawa Police Service Underwater Search and Recovery Unit at Britannia Yacht Club 2012
An OPS Ford Police Interceptor Utility near uOttawa
Throughout the 20th century, the Ottawa Police Service and other neighbouring police services used a variety of vehicles, such as the Chevrolet Caprice.
By the 2001 amalgamation, the majority of marked patrol vehicles deployed by the OPS were the Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor (CVPI) and Chevrolet Impala9C1. Following the CVPI's discontinuation in 2011, the OPS purchased Ford Police Interceptor Sedan (FPIS) and Ford Police Interceptor Utility (FPIU) vehicles to replace it.[12][13] The FPIS became the new majority of marked patrol vehicles in the fleet, especially after the Chevrolet Impala 9C1's discontinuation in 2016, until it was discontinued in 2019; since then, most FPIS vehicles in the fleet have been retired and replaced by newer FPIUs.
In February 2021, the Ottawa Police Services Board discussed the possibility of using electric police cars.[14] In summer 2022, the OPS tested Dodge Durango and Dodge Charger police vehicles.[15]
Many divisions within OPS carry tasers including the tactical unit, PIVOT, as well as most front line patrol officers.[19]
Most marked Ottawa Police patrol vehicles are also equipped with automated external defibrillators in the trunk of their car.[20]
With an increase of overdoses in Ottawa, all OPS units carry Nalaxone (NARCAN).
Controversies
In June 2020, Chief Peter Sloly announced that Const. James Ramsay had been charged for creating a racist meme depicting racialized members of the Ottawa Police Service. The meme was a photo collage depicting 13 officers, most of whom were men of colour, and included the phrase "Ottawa Police Services – We're always hiring…anyone."[21] The meme had circulated widely among the Ottawa Police Service before coming to the attention of Sloly. In late April, Sloly stated in a virtual meeting with the Ottawa Police services board that the meme targeted racialized members of the service. "It is an overt act of racism and it is unacceptable... This is more evidence of the need for a serious overhaul of our culture, ethics and ethical behaviour. The culture of the Ottawa Police Service needs significant improvement. We can no longer ignore this reality."[22] Rasmay was temporarily demoted from first class to second class constable for 9 months as well as required participation in healing circle.[23]
In September 2020, Ontario Court Justice Peter K. Doody found that the Ottawa Police Service had "a pattern of systemic failure" towards respecting the right to counsel guaranteed by Section 10 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms after a defense lawyer presented him with 15 cases over the previous three years – not including the case in question and a subsequently reported case – of the OPS failing to advise detainees of that right.[24]
In February 2022, Sloly resigned from the Ottawa Police Service amid controversy over his failure to disperse defiant anti-COVID-19 restriction protestors, which resulted in the Ottawa Police Service becoming managed by both the Mounties and the Ontario Provincial Police setting up a command centre in Ottawa to work with the local police.[25] On February 16, 2022, Steve Bell, who has served as OPS Deputy Chief[26] since 2016,[5] was named as the interim Police Chief.[5]
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