With
a daily population of over 70 thousand people, the University of Toronto
is the largest university in Canada, incorporating three campuses, all
located in south central Ontario. The St. George campus is the largest
and located in the heart of Toronto. The Erindale campus is located 30
Kilometres to the West while the Scarborough campus is located 30 kilometres
to the East. The university was established 1827 by John Strachan, leader
of Upper Canada's Anglican elite. The university was controlled by the
church of England and its first classes began in 1843. The university
was first known as King's College.
Security duties at the university originally fell upon the caretakers. Later the university saw the need to establish its own police department and in 1904 the university hired its first constable. Over the years the University Police grew from a handful of officers to its present days strength of over 49 sworn officers, including 4 Sergeants, 1 Staff Sergeant and 3 Managers to oversee the three campus departments. The University Police receive their official police authority through the Ontario Police Services Act. This authority allows officers to make warrantless arrests based on reasonable grounds, to issue appearance notices for criminal offences, to execute warrants of arrest, and to issue provincial and municipal tickets. The University of Toronto Police patch was adopted in July of 1978 and is worn by all uniformed officers. Previously, the patch was a black half moon style with "University of Toronto Police" written on it in white block letters. Our current patch depicts the symbol of the university in the centre with yellow lettering and border. The centre symbol of the crest is a shield with the university colours of blue and white in the background. On the shield are books, a heraldic beaver and the crown of George IV, in whose reign the University's royal charter was granted. At the bottom of the shield is Latin on a banner, which in English means "As a tree with the Passage of Time". This statement is symbolized at the top of the crest with an oak tree bearing acorns, denoting the promise of new life. In May of 1996 the patch was modified replacing the King's crown with the Queen's. The University of Toronto Police is currently the largest sworn University Police Service in Canada. It is hoped that you enjoyed this glimpse into our departments past. If you would like to trade department patches please feel free to email me directly or if you wish send one of your department patches to the address on our department web site to my attention and I'll send you one of our patches in trade.
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