Ontario Provincial Police 3.63

The Ontario Provincial Police is the Provincial Police service for the province of Ontario, Canada. In the late 1940s, policing functions were reorganized in Ontario, with the OPP given responsibility for all law enforcement in the Province outside areas covered by municipal police forces, together with overall authority for law enforcement on the King's Highways, enforcement of the provincial liquor laws, aiding the local police and maintaining a criminal investigation branch.The OPP is responsible for providing policing services over one million square kilometres of land and 174,000 km2 of water to a population of 2.3 million people . As of 2010, the O.P.P. has over 6,200 uniformed, 850 auxiliary and 2,700 civilian personnel. The vehicle fleet consists of 2,290 vehicles, 114 marine vessels, 286 snow and all-terrain vehicles, two helicopters and two fixed-wing aircraft. Rank Structure within the OPP is paramilitary or quasi-military in nature, with several "non-commissioned" ranks leading to the "officer" ranks.OverviewThe OPP is the largest deployed police force in Ontario, and the second largest in Canada. The service is responsible for providing policing services throughout the province in areas lacking local police forces. It also provides specialized support to smaller municipal police forces, investigates province-wide and cross-jurisdictional crimes, patrols provincial highways, and is responsible for law enforcement on many of the waterways in the province. The OPP also works with other provincial agencies, including the Ministry of Transportation and Ministry of Natural Resources to enforce highway safety and conservation regulations, respectively. Finally, OPP officers provide security at the Ontario Legislature at Queen's Park in Toronto.