The Waterloo Regional Police Service was established in 1973 following the amalgamation of communities in Waterloo County.

Prior to the amalgamation, the County of Waterloo was patrolled by a number of different police forces. The Cities of Kitchener, Waterloo and Galt; Towns of Preston, Hespeler, Elmira and New Hamburg; the Village of Bridgeport and Waterloo Township all had their own police force. The Townships of Woolwich, Wellesley, Wilmot and North Dumfries were patrolled by the Ontario Provincial Police.

In 1973, the Waterloo Region Police Force consisted of 330 officers and 48 civilian members, and policed a community of 265,273 people. There were seven detachments including: Kitchener, Galt, Waterloo, Preston, Hespeler, Elmira and New Hamburg.

In 1977, the Hespeler detachment was closed. When the new Cambridge detachment was completed in 1982, the Galt and Preston detachments moved to the new facility. Our name was changed from Waterloo Regional Police “Force” to Waterloo Regional Police “Service” in 1991.

Waterloo Regional Police currently employs approximately 699 police officers and approximately 267 civilians across six locations. We police a region of 1,382 square kilometers with a population of 510,000. The areas that are policed include: the City of Kitchener, the City of Cambridge, the City of Waterloo, the Township of Woolwich, the Township of Wilmot, the Township of Wellesley and the Township of North Dumfries.

Our current Chief of Police is Matthew A. Torigian. 

Police officer ranks range from fourth-class constable, to Chief of Police. Depending on their rank and experience they may be asked to serve in numerous locations during the course of their career. Officers most often begin their careers on patrol. In time, they may be eligible for promotion and/or transfer to a specialty branch such as Fraud, Major Case, or Homicide, to mention only a few. Officers who attain the rank of Staff Sergeant are positioned to supervise a branch or platoon. Those who are promoted to Inspector or higher are considered the senior managers of the organization, and are responsible for numerous branches.

Civilians are hired and positioned according to their particular specialty. A clerical person for example may be hired for the Records Branch, while someone with specialized computer training would be placed in the Information Technology Unit. Certain management positions such as Finance and Human Resources are held by civilian members.

Employees of the Waterloo Regional Police Service operate under a collective agreement negotiated by the Police Services Board, and the Waterloo Regional Police Association.