Award Criteria

All Service Members who have received corporate awards through the Standing Awards Committee (SAC) of the Toronto Police Service during the previous calendar year will be considered for the Police Excellence Awards. Awards given in a particular year usually reflect incidents from the previous year.

A Judging Panel which is a sub-committee of the PEAC will adjudicate the submissions.

The criteria to be used in determining the winners of the Police Excellence Awards, and the Police Officer of the Year award, include the following:

  • Bravery;

  • Humanitarianism;

  • Acute risk to one’s life or the life of others;

  • Superior de-escalation skills;

  • Investigative work of superior quality;

  • Overall outstanding police skills;

  • Extraordinary compassion; and

  • Collaboration with other Service Members, members of the community, and other law enforcement and first responder services/agencies

The members of the Judging Panel will apply this criteria to make a determination of award winners at their discretion.

Recipients will be formally recognized at an annual ceremony.

Police Excellence Awards

Created in 1967, the purpose of the event is to recognize officers of the Toronto Police Service who have made significant contributions to making Toronto one of the safest big cities in the world. An average of 12 officers, or a group of officers, are selected for the Police Officer Excellence Awards, based on the criteria of bravery, humanitarianism, superior investigative work and outstanding police skills. The Police Officer of the Year Award is selected from these groups.

Business Excellence Award

Both uniform and civilian members who have received corporate awards through the SAC during the previous calendar year are considered eligible for this award.

The criteria to be used in determining the winners of the Business Excellence Awards include the following:

  • Innovation

  • Community Service

  • Technical Achievement

  • Customer Service and Reliability

Civilian Excellence Award

Only civilian members who have received corporate awards through the SAC during the previous calendar year are considered eligible
for this award.

The criteria to be used in determining the winners of the Civilian Excellence Awards include the following:

  • Demonstrated superior diligence

  • Dedication

  • Initiative and/or leadership, which has improved the administration or operation of the Service and/or positively impacted the community.

Police Animal Excellence Award

The Police Animal Excellence Award will be given to a Toronto Police Service dog or horse that has demonstrated extraordinary bravery, strength, dedication or skill in the line of duty.

The purpose of the award is to recognize the incredible role that police dogs and horses play in the Toronto Police Service in helping to keep communities safe, and to pay tribute to their exceptional dedication to duty. It may also be granted to honour the lifetime achievement of a retiring police dog or horse.

Police Officer(s) of the Year

The Judging Panel will select one annual winner to be named the Police Officer (or Officers) of the Year from the recipients of the Police Excellence Awards, over the course of the year.