Police officers and police personnel work tirelessly to serve and safeguard our communities. Every day, police professionals across Ontario go above and beyond their duties, giving their time and resources to making a real difference in the lives of Ontarians. Most do so without any thought of personal recognition or reward.
This is why the OACP is proud to partner with OnStar Canada, a subsidiary of General Motors that provides subscription-based connected vehicle service including in-vehicle safety and emergency services, in-vehicle connectivity services and hands-free driver assistance technology, in their Beyond the Badge program. This program is designed to recognize the often-unsung heroes in our Ontario police services. Not just for the work that they do but also by showcasing the excellence in policing that goes beyond the individual or team’s duties, the Heroes Beyond the Badge program recognizes law enforcement professionals who truly go beyond the badge.
The Purpose of Heroes Beyond the Badge:
- To recognize an individual or team in a police service whose contribution to policing deserves to be known and acknowledged.
- To recognize the beyond “operational” duties that our police officers and personnel do to support their colleagues and their communities, including random acts that make the lives of our police professionals and members of the community better.
- To showcase policing excellence
Defining Excellence:
- The individual/team has demonstrated the highest standard of professionalism, commitment, integrity, and accountability in their work/role.
- The individual/team has gone above and beyond the expectations of their role.
- The individual/team has positively and meaningfully impacted their colleagues, community and/or policing in Ontario via a program, innovative services, effective administration, volunteerism, or through random acts of kindness and altruism.
How Heroes Beyond the Badge Works:
- Police personnel in an Ontario police service are invited to nominate an individual or team within their organization by submitting a Nomination Form, as well as any relevant accompanying materials (recommendation letter, testimonial, news article, etc.) to communications@oacp.ca.
- Once an individual or team has been nominated, the nomination will enter a “pool” of nominees for consideration. Only the nominators responsible for the chosen recipient will be contacted. Nominations that have been previously submitted but not chosen may remain in the pool for future consideration.
- Quarterly, the OACP and OnStar will choose an individual or team to be recognized, This announcement will be shared via a media release, published on the OACP and OnStar Canada website, as well as via respective social media channels. Hashtags that may be used include: #BeyondtheBadge, #BTB
- We strongly encourage police services to promote their personnel who is being honoured through social media, local media, etc.
- The individual or team will be presented with a personalized certificate of achievement, as well as a personalized plaque.
The Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police is grateful that OnStar Canada is committed to recognizing our police personnel through the Beyond the Badge program.