Back to SearchThe Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police (OACP) is pleased to award the 2021 Traffic Safety Initiative of the Year Award to Constable Marc Taraso with the Halton Regional Police Service (HRPS) for Project Noisemaker.
This award is presented to an individual or police organization that creates, develops, and implements Ontario’s most successful traffic safety program.
Developed and led by Constable Taraso, Project Noisemaker was created in response to an increased number of complaints from Halton citizens regarding unnecessary noise, street racing, and unsafe vehicle modifications.
The program initially ran from May 2020 to October 2020 and was successful from the start, with 574 charges for No/Improper Muffler; 396 charges for unnecessary noise; 12 Racing/Stunt driving charges laid; and over 41 vehicles removed from the roadways as being unsafe, increasing the safety of Halton streets.
Through this initiative, Constable Taraso developed partnerships with the Ministry of the Environment and the HRPS Training Unit to develop front-line personnel training relating to inspections on modified vehicles.
As the spokesperson for Project Noisemaker, Constable Taraso gave dozens of media interviews with local, regional, national, and international police services, which focused on educating the public about unnecessary noise, unsafe vehicles, and aggressive driving.
As a result, Project Noisemaker received:
- Over 2.3 Million reaches on HRPS Social media platforms over the course of the project;
- Video launch tweet of Project #Noisemaker on Twitter gained 111,750 reaches, and 39,678 views, and
- Over 7 Million impressions and over 700,000 engagements on the @CstTaraso9345 Twitter account.
With the success of Project Noisemaker, other police jurisdictions took note. Constable Taraso has gone on to assist with the operational planning for Project Noisemaker in other jurisdictions in Ontario and as far away as Vancouver.
Social Media Material
Portrait - Constable Marc Taraso, Halton Regional Police Service
Twitter - 2021 OACP Traffic Safety Initiative of the Year Award Recipient Announcement
Instagram - 2021 OACP Traffic Safety Initiative of the Year Award Recipient Announcement
This annual award is made possible by the generous support from the CAA South Central Ontario.
Subscribe