Chief's Message
On behalf of the men and women of the Guelph Police Service, welcome and thank you for taking the time and interest to visit our web page. You are now only a finger stroke away from a vast array of information that should assist in addressing your interests or concerns. If not, you can send a message to any member listed on the "Contact Us" list and we"ll be glad to get the information you need and promptly get back to you.
The year 2010 marks the 170th anniversay of the founding of the Guelph Police. Way back in 1840, the District of Wellington became a reality and Chief Constable John Jones was appointed as the first official officer of the police force. Even though Thomas Brown was actually recognized as the first town constable serving the local community back in 1827, the police department was not officially recogniaed until 13 years later. Here we are to-day, 282 members strong (195 police officers and 87 civilian support staff), with a budget of $32.1 million dollars and serving a population of 125,000. In addition, there are an additional 20,000 students and staff attending or working at the University of Guelph who form an integral part of our community. We've come a long way and the journey has been fascinating.
The Guelph Police enjoys the notoriety of being the first police service in the Province to implement a motorcycle patrol; the hand-held walkie talkie; and, the new "Fleetnet" digital trunked and fully encrypted communications system. We are also proud that we will be opening the first of its kind in Ontario "Joint Emergency Services Facility" (police, fire and E.M.S.), currently being constructed in the south end of Guelph on Clair Rd. W. and which will officially open in June 2011. An accident reporting centre will be located at this new facility as well to better serve the community in a more cost effective and efficient manner.
Guelph continues to be recognized as a great community in which to work and raise a family. MacLean's and Money Sense magazines have noted over the past few years that Guelph is the "Most caring Comunity in Canada" with the highest percentage of vulunteers per capita in the country. It has been consistently ranked as one of the "Best overall municipalities in Canada in which to re-locate" based on a long list of criteria. And most importantly from a police perspective, Guelph has been ranked as "The Safest Census Metropolitan area of Canada with a population over 100,000" for the past 4 years. Our members are very proud to have played a hand in generating this type of overall municipal recognition. We gladly share this success with our local community partners and citizens who really care about what is going on around them. Together, it has been a remarkable partnership that has served this community well. I'm confident we all take a great deal of pride in keeping this great community safe and enjoying it as a wonderful place to call home.
Thank you again for showing an interest in the Guelph Police Service and we hope you enjoy your tour.
Rob Davis
Chief of Police