Skip over navigation

Being Green

Did you know? OPS wants to be a GREEN police service.

The Ottawa Police Service believes in being environmentally responsible.  Patrolling our city has an incredible impact on emissions and the environment but OPS has reduced emissions while still providing excellent service to the community.  

We're taking great strides to reduce the carbon footprint left by the Service. Here's how:

  • OPS has a ‘Green’ patrol car.  This vehicle uses multiple idling reduction technologies to save fuel.  A solar panel charges an auxiliary battery that runs the Mobile Dispatch Terminal, in car radio, emergency lights, and any other equipment without even starting the car.  
  • OPS has an in-car heater that requires a single drop of fuel to run.  It can heat the entire cab and keep the windows defrosted without idling the vehicle. 
  • OPS is committed to reducing idling time. For every hour that a vehicle idles, it accumulates the equivalent of 53 kilometres of driving.  By reducing just 30 minutes of idle time of each vehicle on each shift, we can save 3,780 hours of idle time or 3,339 kilometres of wear on vehicles, per month.
  • Our new West Division Patrol Station is another example of our efforts to being a ‘greener’ service. The new building is expected to achieve LEED "Gold" certification.
    • The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program is a Green Building Rating System, which provides a suite of standards for the environmentally sustainable design, construction and operation of buildings and neighborhoods. Find out more about the LEED program.