Regional police introduce new model focusing on evidence, accountability

Waterloo Regional Police have taken a step forward in how policing is being organized and have introduced a new business model.

During Wednesday’s police services board meeting, it was announced that WRPS will implement its new Stratified Policing Model. This, developed by Dr. Roberto Santos and Dr. Rachel Santos at Redford University in Virginia, focuses on evidence-based approaches while also improving accountability across the force.

Three ways this will be done is by looking at problem areas of concern, identifying consistent re-offenders and focusing on the most serious crimes in the community.

WRPS began the Crime Suppression Strategy back in 2022 and focused on reducing gun violence, robberies and break-and-enters. In 2023, the service saw a five per cent decrease in those crimes and aimed for a 10 per cent decrease in 2024.

According to a report presented to the police services board, WRPS partnered with both doctors in early 2024 to “implement a crime reduction model designed to address immediate, short-term, and long-term crime and disorder incidents while enhancing transparency and incorporating a system of accountability across all levels of the service.”

“We chose Stratified Policing Model for a number of reasons,” Jen Davis, the Deputy Chief of the Neighbourhood Policing and Investigations Unit, said.

“Primarily that it provides an organizational structure or framework that sees crime reduction as a service wide responsibility. It is goal oriented, maintains focus on forward thinking objectives and is data driven.”

The Waterloo Regional Police Service is the first police force in Canada to implement the new model after several police forces in the United States introduced the model to their services.

Some changes will begin this week, including the decentralization of the Direct-Action Response Team (DART), Community Engagement Unit (CEU), and the creation of a non-uniform investigative Street Crime Team that will be assigned to each division.

The changes will happen over the next 12 months and are expected to be completed by January 2026.