Safety Patrol

In 1936 Sergeant Peter Doorigan of the Windsor Police Service recognized a need for a safety system to get school children to and from school. After a visit to Detroit Police Department the first Safety Patrol in Canada was established in Windsor Ontario at St Alphonsis School.

Fifteen boys were employed as Safety Patrol on March 8th 1937. The Border City Star nicknamed these boys “Doorigan’s Boys.” In its first year of operation these Safety patrollers accounted for a decrease in injuries and deaths from 144 injuries and 2 deaths in 1936, to 96 injuries and 1 death in 1937. 

  
The Safety Patrol of the 21st Century in Windsor/Essex County has grown to 532 Foot Patrollers and 1321 Bus Patrollers. The Program involves 107 schools across Essex County. Safety Patrollers are students volunteers who have been trained by local police services to use potentially life- saving skills while on duty. More than 55 Ontario police service have partnered with CAA to deliver a top-notch training program.

You can easily spot patrollers in your community by the lime-green vest they wear. In fact, only on-duty foot and bus patrollers can wear these vests, which are easily recognizable to students, motorist and pedestrians.
Foot Patrollers roles are to help prevent pedestrian-related accidents around schools by encouraging students to cross roads and board vehicles in a safe and responsible manner and to educate schoolmates about how to cross roads safely by setting a proper example.

Bus Patrollers roles are to help the bus operator in getting passengers to their destination in a safe and orderly fashion. The patroller does this by encouraging responsible behavior among students, while riding the bus, and by controlling the boarding and exiting of students in accordance with the bus operator’s instruction.

These Patrollers are community leaders providing safety for the students of Windsor-Essex County travelling to or from school by bus or foot. Windsor-Essex Safety Patrol Association recognizes their dedication to the program by organizing an Appreciation Day, Movie Day and Awards Banquet for Safety Patrollers of the year.

New to the Safety Patrol Program are scheduled Dances, Family Skate Days and BBQ fund raiser.

The Windsor –Essex Safety Patrol Association works in conjunction with Local Police Services, all local School Boards, Transportation Consortium and the School Bus Safety Committee. The program is a continued success due to our main sponsors, United Way, CAA and our dedicated patrollers.

Any questions or concerns regarding the Safety Patrol Program can be forwarded to:

Constable Jeff Tremblay

Windsor Police Service
Community Service Branch

jtremblay@windsorpolice.ca