Research and Development

The Research and Development Office provides information, analysis and recommendations to support operational and administrative decisions of the Guelph Police Service. The Office is responsible for policy development and review, quality assurance, program evaluation, and research into new initiatives for police

service delivery. The Office also coordinates the Service's three-year corporate planning process and annual report, and helped to establish a system for developing and reporting on the achievement of unit objectives that is tied to the annual budget process.

The office is currently staffed by two full time civilian Analysts with Master's degrees in the social sciences and one part-time civilian analyst with a University Degree in Social Sciences. Reporting to the Corporate Services Inspector, they monitor and forecast trends, including crime rates and community issues, which may impact on the demands for service and resource utilization.

Responsibilities also include the research and writing of organizational policies and procedures to meet the requirements of Ontario's Adequacy and Effectiveness standards for Police Services.

A continuing challenge is to ensure that policies serve to enhance efficiency and reduce risk to police and the public without adding excessive complexity to the work environment. The input of members from across the organization is regularly sought to ensure that policies reflect best practices and clearly communicate organizational expectations. Representatives from other service agencies and the public are also invited to participate in policy development on specific issues (ie. Media Relations). Also, members of the Research and Development Office share information with police planners and researchers from police services across Ontario through the Ontario Association of Law Enforcement Planners.

In addition to the development of new policies, a review of existing policies is undertaken each year according to a four-year rolling quality assurance cycle. Policies are grouped into one of seven functional areas - Crime Prevention, Law Enforcement, Victims Assistance, Public Order Maintenance, Emergency Response Services, Leadership and Organization, and Administration and Infrastructure. Each year a different Group of policies from each area is reviewed and revisions are made if necessary.

• Annual Reports
• Business Plan
• Annual Accomplishments Report (2010)*
• Annual Accomplishments Report (2009)*
• Downtown Project Review (1997, 2003, 2006)
• VIP Program Review (2009)
• High School Resource Officer Program Evaluation (2009, 2006, 2002)
• A Review of Problem-Oriented Policing (2009, 2005)