Peel Regional Police
The Peel Regional Police (PRP) provide policing services for Peel Region (excluding Caledon) in Ontario, Canada. It is the second largest municipal police service in Ontario after the Toronto Police Service and third largest municipal force in Canada behind those of Toronto and Montreal, with 2,100 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, including Toronto Pearson International Airport (located in Mississauga) which annually sees 50 million travellers. 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 is within the jurisdiction of Peel Regional Police. The PRP also patrol the section of Highway 409 between the Toronto-Peel border (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 the creation of the Regional Municipality of Peel on January 1, 1974. It integrated the former police departments of Mississauga, Port Credit, Streetsville, Brampton, and Chinguacousy. 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 were together merged into the Peel Regional Police Service in 1974. As of 2020, the Peel Regional Police have approximately 2,100 officers and 875 civilian support staff. Since the creation of the Peel regional police force, six deaths have been recorded, five from traffic accidents (the latest in March 2010) and one from a stabbing in 1984. Command structure. The  Peel Regional Police divide the region into five divisions. Major police stations are located in each division which is supported by smaller community police stations. These provide residents with services to deal with traffic complaints, neighbourhood 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 kilometre 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 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). The Airport Division consists of uniform, tactical, and plain clothes officers and staff at 2951 Convair Drive in Mississauga. 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 armour) worn by officers are black with silver "police  on the back and an embroidered patch over the right pocket with 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 black peak, red band, and silver cap badge (gold cap badge for senior officers). 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 coloured seal of the Regional Municipality of Peel. The shoulder flash worn on each arm by senior officers (inspector and above) has a gold border, gold lettering, black background, and coloured 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 made 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, newer 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 not marked in the way described above. These vehicles are painted in a solid colour, like most civilian vehicles, with the words "Peel Regional Police" applied  in a semi-reflective decal in the same, or almost the same, colour as the vehicles' paint. Examples are cherry decals on red paint, or charcoal decals on black paint. Weapons. Uniform patrol Tactical rescue unit and airport division Units. Traffic enforcement Investigation Special Community support Awards. Members of the Peel Regional Police 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 volunteerism throughout the community. Misconduct allegations and convictions. 2016 lawsuit against former Peel police chief, Jennifer Evans. Jennifer Evans and the Peel Police faced a 21 million dollar lawsuit alleging that they unlawfully interfered the special investigations unit. Previously, Evans had faced numerous calls for resignation after refusing to stop carding and refusing to implement body cameras. 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; both were later acquitted by a jury. 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 the shooting death of Lawson and pressure from the black Canadian community, the Attorney General of Ontario established the Race Relations and Policing Task Force. The task force made several recommendations, the result was the provincial government creating a police oversight agency known as the special investigations unit to investigate police related shootings resulting in injury or death. Public complaints. The Peel Regional Police Public Complaints Investigation Bureau (PCIB) investigates all complaints made by the public in regards to 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: