Developing the Strategic Plan
During the Strategic Plan development process, we conducted an environmental scan and consulted with our community members, Service members, local business owners, community stakeholders, and municipal and regional councils. The consultations, in combination with the Chief’s priorities, informed the creation of our strategic goals and objectives.
The Strategic Plan development process began with a review of our environmental scan. The environmental scan is a report that provides an overview of factors that will impact policing in Durham Region for the coming years, such as population growth and demographic composition, economic conditions, infrastructure, and technological developments. We use this information to ensure our Strategic Plan is responsive to the current and anticipated state of our communities and the broader social and legal context.
We hosted group meetings with representatives from more than 50 service-providing agencies across the Region in various sectors, such as victims of abuse, mental health and addictions, housing and unsheltered, youth, older adults, first responders, and equity issues. We asked service providers to describe a future where DRPS meets the needs of the community, what DRPS does now that works towards that vision, what DRPS does now that works against that vision, and what actions we should take to move towards that vision.
Consultations with community stakeholders revealed a desire to have stronger ties between service-providing agencies and DRPS, dedicated liaison officers for those agencies and for connecting with youth, more community engagement efforts, and greater transparency.
We consulted with members of our Service through our member survey and by hosting multiple in-person information-gathering sessions at all DRPS divisions and with multiple speciality units. Almost 50% of DRPS members (690 members) completed the survey. The in-person sessions provided members the opportunity to share more detailed thoughts on issues of importance as well as feedback on the initial Strategic Plan goals and objectives.
Areas of high priority for members of our Service include: staffing resources; advancement and skill development; health and wellness resources; training and preparedness; facilities, equipment, and technology; and work environment.
To reach community members across Durham Region, we conducted an online community survey, which 3,712 community members completed.
Our survey determined the top three priority roadway safety issues are: aggressive driving, impaired driving, and distracted driving.
The community’s top three community safety and neighbourhood crime priorities are: “hidden” crime (e.g., child exploitation, cybercrime, elder abuse, human trafficking, intimate partner violence, organized crime), serious and organized crime (e.g., assaults, auto theft, drug trafficking, fraud and identity theft, guns and gangs, illicit cannabis operations, robberies), and gender-based crime (e.g., harassment, human trafficking, intimate partner violence, missing persons, sexual assault).
Three areas for improvement include working with the community to address local concerns and crime trends, police presence by foot or bicycle, and police presence in vehicles.
To see the complete results by municipality, click here.
We hosted a town hall in partnership with DRPS’ Diversity Advisory Committee. The panel included the Chair of the Durham Regional Police Services Board and representatives from DRPS’ Executive Leadership Team. The town hall provided another avenue for the community to share their input for the Strategic Plan, particularly for those individuals who did not fill out the community survey.
We consulted with Durham Regional Council and municipal Councils on our draft goals and objectives. Council members were provided an opportunity to provide feedback.
We sought input from local business owners through a business-specific survey. This survey asked local business owners to identify how much of a problem and priority various crime issues are around their business locations and their level of satisfaction with police actions towards addressing those issues.
Environmental Scan
The strategic plan development process began with a review of our environmental scan. The environmental scan is a report that provides an overview of factors that will impact policing in Durham Region for the coming years, such as population growth and demographic composition, economic conditions, infrastructure, and technological developments. We use this information to ensure our strategic plan is responsive to the current and anticipated state of our communities and the broader social and legal context.
Stakeholder Consultations
We hosted group meetings with representatives from more than 50 service-providing agencies across the region in various sectors, such as victims of abuse, mental health and additions, housing and unsheltered, youth, older adults, first responders, and equity issues. We asked service providers to describe a future where DRPS meets the needs of the community, what DRPS does now that works towards that vision, what DRPS does now that works against that vision, and what actions we should take to move towards that vision.
Consultations with community stakeholders revealed a desire to have stronger ties between service-providing agencies and DRPS, dedicated liaison officers for those agencies and for connecting with youth, more community engagement efforts, and greater transparency.
Community survey
To reach community members across Durham Region, we conducted an online community survey, which 3,712 community members completed.
Our survey determined the top three priority roadway safety issues are: aggressive driving, impaired driving, and distracted driving.
The community’s top three community safety and neighbourhood crime priorities are: “hidden” crime (e.g., child exploitation, cybercrime, elder abuse, human trafficking, intimate partner violence, organized crime), serious and organized crime (e.g., assaults, auto theft, drug trafficking, fraud and identity theft, guns and gangs, illicit cannabis operations, robberies), and gender-based crime (e.g., harassment, human trafficking, intimate partner violence, missing persons, sexual assault).
Three areas for improvement include working with the community to address local concerns and crime trends, police presence by foot or bicycle, and police presence in vehicles.
To see the complete results by municipality, click here.
Town Hall
We hosted a town hall in partnership with DRPS’ Diversity Advisory Committee. The panel included the Chair of the Durham Regional Police Services Board and representatives from DRPS’ Executive Leadership Team. The town hall provided another avenue for the community to share their input for the strategic plan, particularly for those individuals who did not fill out the community survey.
Business Survey
We sought input from local business owners through a business-specific survey. This survey asked local business owners to identify how much of a problem and priority various crime issues are around their business locations and their level of satisfaction with police actions towards addressing those issues.
Member Survey
We consulted with members of our Service through our member survey and by hosting multiple in-person information-gathering sessions at all DRPS divisions and with multiple speciality units. Almost 50 percent of DRPS members (690 members) completed the survey. The in-person sessions provided members the opportunity to share more detailed thoughts on issues of importance as well as feedback on the initial strategic plan goals and objectives.
Areas of high priority for members of our Service include: staffing resources; advancement and skill development; health and wellness resources; training and preparedness; facilities, equipment, and technology; and work environment.
Consultations with Regional and Municipal Councils
We consulted with Durham Regional Council and municipal Councils on our draft goals and objectives. Council members were provided an opportunity to provide feedback.