2023 OACP Annual Award Winners!
The Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police, along with our partners are pleased to announce and highlight this year's award winners.
OACP Traffic Safety Excellence Award
awarded to
Toronto Police Service - 2022 Vision Zero Enforcement Team
Vision Zero Enforcement Team - VZET
The Vision Zero Enforcement Team policies in a large and complex city with challenging traffic infrastructure. The strength of the Toronto Police Service - Vision Zero Enforcement Team is that each member is passionate about protecting our communities and know that our strengths is because we truly work as a team.
This team is made up of dedicated and confident officers from across the city who have chosen to specialize in traffic enforcement. Our officers know the many different and diverse communities that make up Toronto and it is these community members that we consider when conducting zero tolerance traffic enforcement against drivers.
Our team strategically deploys throughout the City of Toronto focusing on the driving behaviours that our communities are most frustrated with and that are known to contribute to the collisions that cause death and serious injury. These behaviours are speeding, distracted, aggressive and impaired driving.
The team consists of 16 Constables and 2 Sergeants and is responsible for 20% of the total traffic enforcement for the Toronto Police Service.
OACP Traffic Safety Excellence Award Video
Sponsored by:
OACP/OMRON Catherine Martin Award of Excellence in Media Relations
awarded to
Cst. Laura Nicolle, York Regional Police
In her 10 years serving as a media relations officer for York Regional Police, Cst. Laura Nicolle has consistently demonstrated professionalism, compassion and dedication, proving herself a valued provincial leader in the field.
Her innate sensitivity and empathy is always evident, whether delivering public appeals to locate missing people, speaking at tragic scenes of fatal motor vehicle collisions or at dynamic, evolving homicide scenes, effectively communicating vital information to our community.
Developing strong relationships with media partners is a requirement of the job and Cst. Nicolle spends countless hours liaising with media from across the GTA, creating allies, not adversaries.
As a media relations leader, the OACP sought out her skills to deliver its Media Relations Officers Course, sharing her expertise with new media relations officers across Ontario.
Cst. Laura Nicolle's unparalleled professionalism and competence has served York Regional Police, our community and Ontario's media relations officers with excellence.
OACP/OMRON Catherine Martin Award of Excellence in Media Relations Video
Sponsored by:
OACP Award of Excellence in Community Safety, Wellness, and Crime Prevention
awarded to
Pauline Larsen, Downtown Yonge Business Improvement Area
Downtown Yonge Business Improvement Area (DYBIA) represents $7.2 billion worth of commercial properties and close to 1,800 business in the Yonge-Dundas neighbourhood of Downtown Toronto. It's a busy and diverse neighbourhood with a mix of residents, employees, university and school students, tourists and visitors. DYBIA believes that community safety and well-being is the foundation of any successful neighbourhood, so we take a very intentional approach to safety and inclusion. That includes a range of programs from de-escalation training for street front retailers to crisis and traditional outreach for businesses and community stakeholders to ongoing research around safety and inclusion.
In 2023, we launched a unique partnership pilot with the City of Toronto's SafeTOPlan. Most recently, as part of our pandemic response, Downtown Yonge coordinates weekly on-street partnerships with eight different partners, including the NCOs, as well as street burses, harm reduction teams, housing workers and mental health workers. Our commitment is to collaborative, community-centered partnerships to building community safety and wee-being and at the core of all work is our relationship with the Toronto Police Service, and specifically the Yonge Neighbourhood Officer Program (NCOP).
Thank you for this award and for acknowledging the work that we do to keep Downtown Yonge safe and inclusive! - Pauline Larsen.
OACP Award of Excellence in Community Safety, Wellness, and Crime Prevention Video
Sponsored by:
OACP Excellence in Leadership Award
awarded to
Staff Superintendent John Goodman
Staff Superintendent John Goodman is a 29-year member of the Waterloo Regional Police Service who has demonstrated remarkable leadership through his involvement within WRPS and the community.
John facilitates the Cops and Youth program, the Youth in Policing Initiative, and the Citizen’s Police Academy. He is an EDI Pillar Champion, sits on the Advisory Committee for Women in Leadership, and is a member of the Uniform Recruitment Steering Committee. He was also instrumental in the development of the Service’s Crisis Call Diversion program.
He sits on the KW Multi-Cultural Centre’s board and is Chair of the CACP Mental Health Finance Committee. He is heavily involved with – and greatly respected by – several community organizations, including the Somali Canadian Association of Waterloo Region, Afghan Association, Islamic Centre of Cambridge, Cambridge Muslim Services, and Nigerians in the Region of Waterloo.
John assumed the role of Acting Chief in July 2022 and worked tirelessly to ensure a seamless transition for the incoming Chief in November 2022.
OACP Excellence in Leadership Award Video
Sponsored by:
OACP Excellence in Information Technology/Services Award
awarded to
Det Cst. Shaun Hildebrand
and
Det. Sgt. Rob Williamson
The landscape of policing has changed. How do police become more intelligence led? How do they use Data-Analytics to improve accountability and objectively prioritize resource allocation? How do they optimize the use of resources and technology as a means of enhancing capability and capacity?
in 2019, Toronto Police Service (TPS) ventured into a research and development project to create a police-centric suite of proactive policing tools. Leveraging state of the art Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology and integrating police records management systems a complement of situational awareness tools was created.
In 2021, Det. Cst. Shaun Hildebrand, Toronto Police Service and Det. Sgt. Rob Williamson, Durham Regional Police Service began a collaboration between the two neighbouring police services on the merits of real time information sharing. This innovative approach is the first of its kind in Canada, and it will help break down geographic barriers, foster a collaborative approach to policing across jurisdictions and ultimately lead to increased officer and community safety.
OACP Excellence in Information Technology/Services Award Video
Sponsored by:
OACP Award of Excellence in the Advancement of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusivity in Policing
awarded to
Staff Sgt. Brooke McRoberts
Staff Sergeant Brooke McRoberts is an outstanding example of Indigenous leadership for her contributions to the Ontario Provincial Police, policing, and Indigenous communities. She promotes and exemplifies the qualities required for this award in her past and current work, specifically, her work within the Indigenous Policing Bureau. As an Indigenous Awareness Trainer, she regularly taught on the Indigenous Awareness Training Course and led training about cultural practices, history, and ongoing issues impacting Indigenous people and communities. Staff Sergeant McRoberts did this with humility, honesty, and respect for those taking the course, even when challenging conversations took place around the truths being shared. She always looks for ways to improve training and reach more people.
In addition to the many tasks and projects undertaken by Staff Sergeant McRoberts, she also worked with the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police and the Indigenous Police Chiefs of Ontario to organize a two-day training event for police service members from across Ontario. This training was to increase awareness of Indigenous culture, issues impacting Indigenous people, and what police services can do to further reconciliation. Staff Sergeant McRoberts is an outstanding officer, leader, and person. She is proud of her Indigenous culture and community, and she is leading the way to positive changes for officers, women, and Indigenous people in Ontario.
OACP Award of Excellence in the Advancement of EDI in Policing Video
Sponsored by: