- Delta Police Department
-
Delta Police Department Abbreviation DPD 
Badge of the DPD Agency overview Formed July 7, 1888[1] Employees 221 Volunteers 180+[2] Annual budget 25 million+ CDN[3] Legal personality Governmental: Government agency Jurisdictional structure Operations jurisdiction* District municipality of Delta in the province of British Columbia, Canada Governing body Delta Police Board Constituting instrument BC Police Act General nature Operational structure Headquarters 4455 Clarence Taylor Crescent Police Constables 166[3] Civilians 65[3] Elected officers responsible - The Honourable Shirley Bond, Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General
- Her Worship Lois E. Jackson, Mayor & Chair of the Delta Police Board
Agency executive Jim Cessford, Chief Constable Facilities Stations 2- 4455 Clarence Taylor Crescent
- 11375 84 Avenue
Website http://deltapolice.ca/ Footnotes * Divisional agency: Division of the country, over which the agency has usual operational jurisdiction. The Delta Police Department (DPD) is the police force for the district municipality of Delta, British Columbia, a suburban community in Metro Vancouver with a population of 102,661. In 2008, Delta Police had 166 sworn members and 65 civilian support staff and an operating budget of $25,921,000.
In 2007, DPD became responsible for policing the Tsawwassen First Nation through an agreement between the nation and the provincial and federal government.[4] Under the Tsawwassen First Nation Final Agreement Act, the first nation does not have the power to establish a police force on their own, but are able to do so by requesting the Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General. The nation chose to employ the DPD in enforcing its laws.[5]
Contents
History
The history of the Delta Police Department is closely tied to the first organized policing presence in British Columbia’s history.
It was in 1858 that Governor James Douglas appointed William Ladner as the first Constable of New Caledonia. William Ladner later went on to found the community of Ladner’s Landing, which became the hub of the Municipality of Delta, British Columbia on November 10, 1879.
On August 20, 1887 William McKee, the Municipal Clerk, was designated as a Constable in addition to his duties as a Clerk. On July 7, 1888, Joseph Jordan was appointed as Delta’s first full time constable, and with this appointment the Delta Municipal Police Department was formed. Over the next eight years Joseph Jordan was dismissed and re-appointed several times, depending on the department’s needs and was assisted on occasion by other temporary Constables.
By 1900, Joseph Jordan had been designated as the Chief Constable and worked full time in this role until his retirement in 1911.
The Chief Constable’s position remained the only regular full-time or part-time position until 1931, when the municipal council authorized the appointment of a night policeman. It was the duty of this policeman, whose salary was partly paid for by the local merchants, to patrol the streets of Ladner at night.
The 1950s was a decade of growth for the Delta Police Department. Membership increased to 11 police officers, and the police station began operating on a 24 hour a day basis.
By 1971 the police department had grown to 45 police officers, due to the growth in community population after the opening of the George Massey Tunnel.
Controversy
On January 21, 2009, three off duty police officers were arrested and detained overnight after being alleged to racially abuse, assault and participated in a robbery in downtown Vancouver against Firoz Khan, a newspaper deliveryman. The police constables came from the Delta Police Department, West Vancouver Police Department and New Westminster Police Service. On January 26, 2009, the Vancouver Police Department cleared the Delta police officer of any wrongdoing and in a news conference, said he tried to intervene to stop the alleged attack but the other two officers were recommended to Crown Counsel for criminal charges to be laid.[6] On February 27, 2009, Crown Counsel announced the DPD officer offered new information and was willing to testify against the other two officers, which lead to an additional charge laid against Cst. Jeffrey Roger Klassen of NWPS.[7]
Bob Rich, the Chief Constable of Abbotsford Police Department will conduct an independent investigation into the incident against the DPD officer under the Police Act.[8]
On duty deaths
While the Delta Police Department has grown, and had many successes over the years, it has not been without tragedy.
On November 2, 1974 Staff Sergeant Ron McKay was shot and killed by Elery Long. This incident occurred when Staff Sergeant McKay attended Long’s residence to speak to him regarding a confrontation that occurred earlier in the day at a local gas station. On May 27, 1975 Long was convicted of murder and sentenced to death. On July 14, 1976 Long’s death sentence, along with the death sentences of ten other people convicted of murdering peace officers, were converted to life sentences. In 2002 Elery Long was granted full parole.
On April 8, 2000 Constable Mark Nieuwenhuis was killed in a tragic police motorcycle accident. The investigation revealed that Constable Nieuwenhuis was attempting to stop a vehicle at the time of the accident. A suspect has never been officially named.
See also
- Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of British Columbia
- E-Comm, 9-1-1 call and dispatch centre for Southwestern BC
References
- ^ DPD History
- ^ Community Police Stations
- ^ a b c Statistics
- ^ Tsawwassen First Nation
- ^ Tsawwassen First Nation Final Agreement Act
- ^ Vancouver police officers face robbery, assault charges
- ^ New Westminster cop faces new charge following downtown attack
- ^ Probe begins for cop cleared of criminal wrongdoing
External links
Categories:- Law enforcement agencies of British Columbia
- Politics of Delta, British Columbia
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