Justice

Police and Justice in Hastings

The Police Service in Belleville has come a long way since the first two officers were sworn in as constables in 1836. In 2006, 170 years later, the force has 81 sworn officers and 30 civilians looking After law and order in a city of 47,000 residents. The highly trained personnel of the Belleville Police Service today use the most modern techniques and equipment currently available to help in their duties which range from traffic enforcement and school liaison programs to criminal investigations.

The Police Service has a strength of 20 auxiliary constables, 17 marked vehicles, nine unmarked vehicles, two marked motorcycles and a community van. The total area policed includes both an urban and rural ward for a total of 245.6 square kilometres.

COURT OFFICES IN BELLEVILLE

• Small Claims - Superior Court of Justice
• Civil - Superior Court of Justice
• Criminal - Superior Court of Justice
• Enforcement - Superior Court of Justice
• Family - Superior Court of Justice
• Criminal - Youth - Ontario Court of Justice
• Family - Ontario Court of Justice
• Criminal - Ontario Court of Justice

Ontario Provincial Police

What we now know as the Ontario Provincial Police began in 1875 when John Wilson Murray became Ontario 's first full-time paid criminal detective. A small staff of government detectives worked for the attorney general's office until 1909. Many of the individuals already working directly for the province as "provincial constables" were subsequently hired by the OPP.

The OPP's first chief, Superintendent Joseph E. Rogers, commanded six inspectors and 38 constables. During these early years, many officers worked in one-person detachments, with no radio communication or motor vehicle transportation.

In the early 1920s, two military men, successively appointed to the position of commissioner, helped transform and define the character of the new and expanding force. The transformation introduced the badge numbers, military style uniforms, insignia, and protocols. Patrolling by motorcycles and marked cruisers followed in the next two decades. This was greatly assisted by the introduction of a radio system in 1947.

At one time many towns and villages had their own constables but gradually the OPP took over law enforcement in most of the smaller municipalities. Even some larger centres contract with the OPP to provide police services.

The first female OPP police officers were hired for active duty in 1974. Today, more than 6,000 employees, including more than 5,000 uniformed members, provide policing services out of six regions and 93 detachments across the province. The OPP's three detachments in Hastings County