Media Release: York Regional Police’s Project Takeover Receives Traffic Safety Award

The Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police (OACP) is pleased to award the 2022 OACP Award of Excellence in Traffic Safety to York Regional Police’s Project Takeover. 

This award is presented to an individual or police organization that creates, develops, and implements Ontario’s most successful traffic safety program.

In 2020, police services in the Greater Toronto Area identified a notable rise in organized street racing and stunt driving. In addition, street racing groups were organized and actively planned ways to interfere with and hinder police services from engaging in traffic enforcement.

To combat this growing problem, York Regional Police proposed the formation of a multi-jurisdictional joint forces operation. As a result, in May of 2021, members from the York Regional Police, Peel Regional Police, Toronto Police Service, and the Ontario Provincial Police launched a collaborative, intelligence-led investigation named Project Takeover. The investigative objectives of Project Takeover were threefold:

• Infiltration – Gain access utilizing undercover methods to closed social media group sites and closed chat groups and attend street racing meet-ups for the purpose of gathering evidence to support criminal and Highway Traffic Act (HTA) charges
• Intelligence – Determine identity and leadership within our three priority target groups and any splinter groups identified during the course of the project. Identify the relationship between these groups and the towing industry in the GTA and any criminality connected to them
• Disruption – Through zero tolerance, criminal and HTA-based arrests and charges, the use of significant social media announcements, and the redeployment of ERASE units to known locations, Project Takeover aimed at disrupting the 2021 street racing season

Between May 1 and June 24, 2021, Project Takeover achieved the following results:

• 70 arrests were made, with a total of 346 charges, including 67 criminal charges and 279 Highway Traffic Act charges
• 61 vehicles were impounded, and 57 drivers’ licences were suspended.

After the takedown, there were no significant street racing events identified in the Greater Toronto Area for the remainder of the traditional street racing season of summer 2021.

This annual award is made possible by the generous support from the Canadian Automobile Association South Central Ontario.