Halton Regional Police Service
Halton Happenings – January 2016
COMMUNITY EVENTS/PARTNERSHIPS
#1 DISTRICT (Milton & Halton Hills)
Staff participated in the eight Remembrance Day parades and ceremonies held at several
locations throughout the District from November 7-11.
A Seniors Wellness Fair was held at the Hillsview Active Living Centre in Georgetown on
November 20. It featured a variety of community groups including SALT who conducted a
series of presentations along with a display booth. The event was well attended by many
Halton Hills seniors. Staff participated in a town hall meeting along with a moderator from
SALT. The officers answered questions on a wide variety of policing topics.
The Service, in partnership with the Real Canadian Superstore, hosted a Cram-a-Cruiser
even in Georgetown on December 5 in support of the Georgetown Food bank. Members
from the K9 Unit, Prisoner Escort Unit, #1 District CMB and Platoon 1 took part in this
worthy cause.
The annual Cram A Cruiser food drive at the Georgetown Great Canadian Superstore was
held on December 5. The HRPS was represented by 1 District CMB, Auxiliary Unit, COPPS,
K9, and Escort Unit. Members volunteered their time for the event. This is the fifth year
this event has been held. The generosity of the community and volunteers which also
included high school and college students and one sports club was outstanding. 13500 lbs
of much needed food for the Georgetown Food Bank was collected as well as $1350 cash.
Also donations of toys and funds were also collected for the Toys for Tots program.
#2 DISTRICT (Oakville)
Community Mobilization Bureau (CMB)
On November 7, the Service and the Canadian Caribbean Association of Halton presented a
Youth Leadership Workshop. The event was held in the #2 District Community Room with
35 local youth and a few parents in attendance. Presentations were conducted by staff on
the following topics:
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Effectively Communicating with the Police
Drug Awareness
Benefits of the P.E.A.C.E. Program
One Vision, One Mission, One Team
3.1
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Day in the Life of a Police Officer
Feedback was extremely positive and some youth in attendance have since contacted the
Service asking for applications to both the P.E.A.C.E. and Y.I.P.I. programs.
The Bronte Remembrance Day Parade began at the Bronte Legion at 10:30 a.m. on
November 8. Thousands of spectators assembled to commemorate the brave soldiers who
gave their lives.
The Oakville Remembrance Day Parade on November 11 similarly attracted respectful
crowds of onlookers with an impressive showing of Service members.
The Halton Suicide Prevention Coalition Annual General Meeting was held on November
20.
On November 21, Downtown Oakville and Kerr Village hosted the Tree Lighting Ceremony.
Santa distributed gifts and complimentary food was donated by the Kerr Village BIA and
area merchants. This event was policed by #2 District staff without incident.
On November 21, the Oakville Santa Claus Parade delighted Oakville families crowding the
route. This year’s parade was the most successful to date and dedicated volunteers, Service
members and various Town of Oakville Departments once again worked together to create
a magical event.
A luncheon was held on November 27 to show appreciation for Oakville Crossing Guards
with staff in attendance.
Several bar checks were conducted on November 27 in partnership with AGRO.
#3 DISTRICT (Burlington)
CONGRATULATIONS!
On December 31, 2015, 3 District successfully achieved 10,000 twitter followers!
A huge debt of thanks must go out to Angela Oliver and all members of 3 District who have
helped support her efforts throughout the year. As a result of the Districts continued support and
all of Angela’s hard work, our District Twitter account continues to be a success.
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C.O.P.P. PROGRAM
#1 District
(Milton/
Halton Hills
#2 District
(Oakville)
#3 District
(Burlington)
Number of volunteers
19
23
15
Hours
173
147
32
Traffic studies
3
Special Events:
The COPP volunteers assisted and supported District staff with a variety of events.
#1 District
(Milton/Halton Hills)
#2 District
(Oakville)
Milton Volunteer Fair
Toys for Tots
Santa Clause Parades
Treasures for Teens
Santa Clause Parade
Toys for Tots
Remembrance Day Parades
#3 District
(Burlington)
Professional Engineers of
Ontario Seasonal Family Party
Mohawk Gardens P.S.
Gingerbread Night
Our Community Cares
Seasonal Hot Chocolate
Ongoing Areas of Concern/Projects:
#2 District (Oakville)
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Lock It or Lose It
Residential and commercial break and enters
TEAM/DISTRICT PROJECTS
#1 DISTRICT (Milton/Halton Hills)
The theme of this year’s Crime Prevention Week was “Community Safety and Well-Being –
A Shared Commitment in Ontario”. Our Regional effort was to focus on Break and Enter
Awareness/Prevention. As a result, members of the #1 District CMB set up display tables
at key locations in Milton and Halton Hills to promote Project Safe Guard (Auxiliary Home
Security Audit Program), Know your Neighbour and Project S.C.R.A.M. (Security Camera
Registration and Monitoring). The goal was to educate the public on steps they could take
to better secure their homes and reduce the risk of being victimized.
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Members of the #1 District Diversity Team joined with members from the other Districts
and attended Brantford/Six Nations for an Indigenous Training Day. The day included a
visit to the former Residential School in Brantford and a visit to the Pauline Johnson Home.
Members learned of the negative impact that Residential Schools had upon Canada’s
Indigenous People. Many members of the team found this day to be a very moving and
educational experience.
As a result of the terrorist attacks in Paris, members of the #1 District CMB team identified
several Islamic institutions located within Milton. Members of the CMB team visited each
location and spoke to members of the Muslim community, assuring them that they had the
full support of the Service and encouraged them to report any instances of harassment,
intimidation or vandalism to the police. On November 20, supervisory staff attended two
separate Mosque locations in Milton and spoke to the congregations of both locations.
Again, the message was one of support and to contact the police should they find
themselves in situations where they are being victimized or are not feeling safe due to their
faith. As part of the District’s approach, officers were deployed to be highly visible during
specific time periods when attendance at the identified locations was high.
#1 District launched its annual RIDE program for the holiday season on November 7. This
initiative includes provincially funded RIDE as well as the annual deployment of District
Response Team officers working Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights in December and
early January. Members of the Auxiliary Unit are scheduled to be deployed to assist during
the scheduled RIDE programs.
On December 1 & 3, #1 District High School Liaison Officers will be conducting the annual
RIDE 101 program. This year, the program will be held at Bishop Redding High School in
Milton and Acton High School in Acton. Participating students from both schools will be
taking part in a RIDE program on the night of December 3. It is hoped this experience will
increase student awareness to the dangers of drinking and driving.
Project HOLIDAY (High enforcement on repeat offenders, Organized retail/property crime,
Links to services, Impaired driving, Domestic incidents, Alcohol issues, Youth wellness)
which ran from December 7 until January 4 was completed. The project objectives were to
align 1 District service delivery with the “Foundational principles of community safety and
well-being and to reduce holiday risk through collaboration.
COMMANDE has partnered with a Nassagaweya farm to offer an equine therapy program
(H.O.P. E - Horses Offering People Encouragement). It has operated since May 2015 and 24
vulnerable adults have passed through the program since that time. In January 2016 the
program is being expanded to include a youth component. A six week session will support
6 youth through the HDSB (Secondary Health and Physical Education & Safety). These
youth have been exposed to trauma, deprivation and victimization
and are unable to handle the routine of a regular classroom. Depending on the success of
this experience, HDSB will consider extending the collaboration to other groups/programs
throughout the school board. This is a perfect opportunity to mitigate risk at an early age.
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#2 DISTRICT (Oakville)
“Project Pit” continues its success with coordinated clean-ups with the Town of Oakville.
The project promotes education and enforcement, focusing on offences such as littering,
bullying, drugs and theft, all ongoing problems in the smoking areas surrounding schools.
Staff has completed the first semester of lockdown drills in most Oakville high schools.
Staff provided over 25 presentations on a variety of topics to the youth in Oakville schools.
Included was an educational segment on Lock it or Lose it, identifying the crime and all the
ramifications attached.
#3 DISTRICT (Burlington)
On December 5, officers attended the Professional Engineers of Ontario (POE) Seasonal Family Party.
This year’s event focused on “Safe Holidays’. Police, Fire and Hydro were all in attendance. Officers set up
the Safeguard booth and handed out ‘personal/property holiday tips sheets’ created with the assistance of
Corporate Communications (see attached). Donations of in stock swag items were made to the
organization (video game accessories). Proceeds raised by the POE at the event went to charity.
On December 10, ESLOs attended Mohawk Gardens Public School and participated in the schools
‘Gingerbread Night’. The event was an opportunity to build gingerbread houses along with students and
their families. This date, members of CMU also attended a Christmas Party held by ‘Our Community Cares’
at their Burloak location. Members chipped in and demonstrated their hot chocolate making skills.
Officers learned that Reach Out Center for Kids (ROCK) were in need of an artificial Christmas Tree; Cst.
Shalabh Tayal (3U3) donated his family’s tree to the center.
On December 11, 3 District CMU (along with 1 and 2) attended a thank you luncheon held by Halton
Community Housing Corporation. All members were recognized for their outstanding service and
commitment to Halton Community Housing.
December 15, was a very busy day for CMU! Members of the Seniors and Vulnerable Adults Team
attended the annual S.A.L.T. breakfast in Georgetown. Members of CMU and uniform patrol also attended
a Christmas Dinner held at Lotus Transitions Group Home. Officers participated in activities and shared a
Christmas meal with the youth currently in care. Officers also attended the Active Chefs cooking class
graduation at Ryerson Public School. Officers attended “No Socks for Ivan” an opportunity to build
rapport with local youth and participate in a variety of sports. Finally, after a successful “cops vs kids” ball
hockey game in November, (and with the assistance of Canadian Tire and Toys for Tots) new ball hockey
gear was donated to the children who reside at the Nelson Community Co-op.
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On December 16, members of CMU attended Joseph Brant Hospital along with Mrs. Longo, singing carols
and distributed gifts to patients who will not make it home for Christmas. This date, officers also attended
the Active Chefs cooking class graduation at Central Public School.
December 18th featured the extremely popular #RIDEWith3D, hosted by CMU member Angela Oliver
which was held from Noon to Midnight.
On December 21, members of CMU returned to Lotus Transitions Group Home for a very special gift
exchange. Through the generosity of one of our Auxiliary Officers, Erik Stella and his company Winroc,
and with the assistance of Toys for Tots, gifts were donated for the youth currently in care. This was not a
simple task as the youth in care fluctuates on a regular basis. Angela Oliver persisted and was in touch
with staff at Lotus on a regular basis and wish lists were compiled by the youth in care. Even up to the last
day, Angela Oliver was ensuring that every youth in care had the items on their Christmas list. Feedback
from the youth and staff was extremely appreciative and they were obviously touched by the gesture.
On December 21, a Community Consultation meeting was held at Walker’s Landing with Halton
Community Housing Corporation, ArtHouse and Risha Burke. Walker’s Landing is one of six communities
identified as “high needs” for community engagement by CMU. This meeting was an opportunity to
engage community youth for input into the Walker’s Landing After School Club scheduled to launch in
early 2016.
During the school Christmas break, school liaison officers who were not on vacation were deployed to the
road to assist with staffing.
TRAFFIC INITIATIVES
#1 DISTRICT (Milton/Halton Hills)
Following a successful enforcement effort surrounding the Town of Milton, Project “Rural
Impact 2” was launched on October 23 to target aggressive drivers that routinely use rural
roads surrounding Georgetown. The project involved officers from #1 District patrol and
the District Response Unit whose job it is to address quality of life issues and conduct zero
tolerance enforcement in order to make our communities safer.
After a month of targeting this patrol area, officers reported the following enforcement
statistics:
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256 Provincial Offence Notices (majority for speeding offences)
13 people charged with Stunt Driving (driving 50km/h+ over the posted speed limit)
4 people arrested for Impaired Driving
3 people arrested for Driving While Under a Suspension
2 people arrested for Possession of Drugs
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Officers will continue to focus their efforts on targeting those drivers that place themselves
and other road users at risk. DRU receives many complaints from citizens expressing their
concerns regarding aggressive drivers and by working with the Region of Halton and local
municipal staff we aim to stay focused at targeting those drivers that present the greatest
risk.
The 1 District District Response Team launched “Project JUNO” to address impaired driving
during the holiday season. The project runs from December 1 until the end of January. Thus far
10 impaired driving arrest have been made and 12 ADLS 3 Day suspensions were issued. 5
roadside tests resulted in a pass.
#2 DISTRICT (Oakville)
The District Response Team provided traffic management and security for the Oakville and
Bronte Remembrance Day Services as well as the annual Oakville Santa Claus Parade.
Two traffic projects were conducted during November – Project Bottleneck and the fall
version of Project Five-0.
Project Bottleneck
As a result of numerous traffic complaints related to the volume of rush hour traffic that
blocks Trafalgar Road at Cornwall Road and Cross Avenue, the District Response Team
created Project Bottleneck.
Contributing factors for this traffic dilemma include the proximity of the Oakville GO
station parking garage; the finite space on Trafalgar Road itself; two major intersections in
close proximity; and ongoing construction on Trafalgar Road at the QEW. Unlike
traditional projects whose focus is to blitz a specific area or to concentrate on a specific
driving offence, (i.e. speeding, distracted driving, etc.), Project Bottleneck was created to
educate the commuting public and to gauge the depth and complexity of this particular
traffic issue.
Although traffic in all directions is affected by the congestion in these intersections, the
primary cause of the congestion is from the rush hour commuter traffic attempting to
travel north on Trafalgar Road.
The project spanned November 1-16 and while used as an evaluation through enforcement,
the project did not involve uniform general patrol. Prior to November 1, a media release
was dispatched which focused on the educational component of the project. Within that
time period, DRT members issued 58 PON’s primarily for the offence of Interfere with
Traffic.
Project Five-0
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Residential speeding remains a high priority and as the population increases, traffic
congestion follows suit. Project Five-O is geared towards high visibility and enforcement
on identified streets. This is an annual Oakville traffic initiative and has proven to be so
successful that a fall version of the program has been introduced. Between November 7-21
officers issued 74 Provincial Offence Notices.
In November, the Road Watch program processed 32 complaints and caution letters.
Complaints were received via the Internet, through Citizen Complaint Forms and as traffic
complaints received through Communications.
#3 DISTRICT (Burlington)
District Response Team
During the month of December, the District Response Team continued implementing the district
traffic initiative Operation RISC (Reducing Intersection Safety Concerns) with the assistance of
uniform patrol. Officers from 30 Division conducted 4,106 traffic stops, issued 5,070 PONS and
handed out 660 warnings since it began in February. Officers have spent a total of 2,279 hours
dedicated to RISC Intersections this year. As a result of this combined effort from the District,
collisions throughout Burlington are down 13% for hit and runs, down 12% for accidents
involving injuries and down 7% for minor accidents during the month of December.
Officers from the District Response Unit continued implementing the Provincial RIDE campaign
throughout the City of Burlington. Active RIDE lanes were set out throughout the City and as a
result, 6,050 vehicles were checked by officers. These RIDE checks resulted in 76 roadside tests
being administered which resulted in 13 three day licence suspensions due to drivers registering
a warning on the Approved Screening Device. There were an additional 13 arrests for Impaired
Driving during December. Officers also charged additional drivers for Possession of a Controlled
Substance, Suspended Driving and laid a variety of Highway Traffic Act offences. The District
Response Unit continued with the Drager project in licenced establishments throughout
Burlington. DRT officers conducted 135 Approved Screening Device tests during the project
which resulted in 16 failed tests, 46 warnings and 73 passed tests. This project provided
effective proactive education about the seriousness of impaired driving and how alcohol affects
everyone differently.
The District Response Team implemented the Automated Licence Plate Recognition (ALPR)
vehicle in the District in December. The ALPR vehicle has a computer system capable of
detecting licence plates of passing vehicles. Using character recognition software, the licence
plate digits are identified and automatically compared against lists of known licence plate
numbers. If a detected plate matches a known plate, the officer will be alerted of the
detection. The ALPR vehicle was effectively utilized during RIDE and other traffic projects and, to
date, has resulted in 41 provincial offence notices being issued by police. The ALPR also assisted
officers in locating drivers who were under suspension. This resulted in 10 additional charges of
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Driving While Disqualified. The District Response Team will continue to utilize the ALPR in 2016
in order to identify offenders, detect stolen vehicles and proactively enforce violations under the
Highway Traffic Act.
Members of the District Response Team and District Uniform Support Team assisted with traffic
control and public safety during the 50th anniversary of the Burlington Santa Clause Parade. The
District Response Unit will continue to ensure the roads are safe by implementing a traffic safety
projects that will deter poor driving behavior through education and enforcement strategies.
AUXILIARY POLICING
Representatives from the District CMB’s, along with approximately 30 auxiliary members
attended the annual Auxiliary Unit Christmas get together on December 3, at the Firehall
Restaurant in Oakville.
COMMUNITY MOBILIZATION AND ENGAGEMENT
December 1 – The graduation ceremony of fall CPA and PEACE Youth Leadership Program took
place. The Chief and members of the senior leadership of the HRPS, along with family and
friends, helped course graduates celebrate with some light refreshments and good cheer.
December 2 – The Chief and senior officers, as well as staff from RCMB attended the annual
Oakville Prayer Breakfast held at the Oakville Convention Centre.
The 2015 Toys for Tots campaign ran until December 18 and had another incredibly successful
year. The campaign was on track for reaching its goal of $300,000 worth of toys, cash and gift
cards. This toy drive is responsible for providing thousands of children in the Region with a
happy Christmas morning.
December 5 – Georgetown Cram-A-Cruiser event was held.
December 6 – Over 50 children participated with the TFT float in the Burlington Santa Claus
Parade.
December 9 – Donated toys for over 100 children at a community dinner sponsored by the Polish
Hall in Burlington.
December 12 – TFT sponsored two Co-Op housing children’s Christmas parties and provided
gifts for over 200 children.
One Vision, One Mission, One Team
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December 14 – Attended Miracle on Main Street, Milton, in support of the Tiger Jeet Singh Charity
for Sick Kids.
RCMB members, spearheaded by Constable Dugas, also attended numerous “Cram a Cruiser”
events throughout the Region.
Constable Dugas taught several classes to new Canadians at the Thomas Merton Centre in
Oakville and the Centre for Education in Burlington on community safety and introduction to
police.
December 15 – Deputy Chief Crowe, Sgt. Dienstmann and representatives from 2 CMB attended a
dinner sponsored by the Oakville Community Foundation and the Oakville Chamber of
Commerce to bring attention to the plight of Syrian refugees and community involvement. His
Excellency, the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, gave the keynote
address.
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