WRPS setting aside $5.6M towards better courthouse securities
Posted Nov 18, 2025 10:51:09 AM.
Last Updated Nov 18, 2025 10:52:00 AM.
Waterloo Regional Police Service (WRPS) is looking to set aside $5.6 million in funding towards added safety and security at two local courthouses.
Those include the Waterloo Region Courthouse and the Provincial Offences Courthouse, which they say have both been suffering from a lack of available security measures.
It comes as regional police said they’ve noticed a growing trend in violent incidents, noting during a recent police services board meeting a few particular dangerous situations.
Those include three bomb threats over the previous three months, several incidents where duress alarms were pulled by judges and the judiciary after escalating tensions in court, as well as one particular incident where an accused was able to escape the bounds of a prisoner’s box and rush towards the judge before being detained.
It’s led the local force to investigate possible solutions to those problems, finding that adding further special constables and sworn officers assigned to those courthouses is the best potential fix.
As of now, the current number of security personnel at those courthouses includes:
- Provincial Offences Courthouse: 1x Special Constable
- Waterloo Region Courthouse: 36x Special Constables, 2x Sworn Police Officers
The new additions would increase those numbers to:
- Provincial Offences Courthouse: 2x Special Constables, 1x Sworn Police Officer
- Waterloo Region Courthouse: 40x Special Constables, 3x Sworn Police Officers
The Ministry of the Attorney General has also released recommendations for overall court security, ranging from having a single entrance accessible for members of the public and increased screening through further metal detectors and security wands, as well as having a security presence on each level of courthouses.
WRPS still has said it is seeing decreased funding on the provincial level, having a tougher time meeting the needs of the public with the current security funding it’s been allocated.
It comes as regional police approved a roughly $20 million budget increase this budget season, increasing its total number to $272 million.
