Ontario Provincial Police Purchase Trimble Robotic Total Stations from Cansel

True North | Winter 2020

The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) is comprised of approximately 62,000 uniformed officers and 1,800 civilian members. These individuals are responsible for policing an area of more than 1,000,000 square kilometers and 125,000 kilometers of roads in Ontario.

Fatalities and serious injury collisions comprise approximately one percent of all collisions in the province of Ontario. The OPP has 43 full time collision reconstructionists assigned to the Highway Safety Division as well as approximately 75 technical collision investigators who assist the collision reconstructionists. These investigators are responsible for the technical investigation of more than 700 fatal and serious injury collisions annually.

The OPP started using total stations to reconstruct serious collision scenes in 1995. These original total stations required two people to operate. Measuring scenes with these total stations significantly improved efficiency thus reducing time on the scene compared to using antiquated tape measuring tools.

In 2005 the OPP moved to the use of Robotic Total Stations which could be operated by one officer. Since this time OPP collision reconstructionists have been able to reduce the time required to clear a serious collision scene by more than 25%. This has proved to be a valuable tool as it allows the investigator to accurately document scene evidence in a timely manner which reduces the impact of traffic congestion on the motoring public.

Hunter Martin, from the Kentucky State Police Critical Incident Response Team may be the only Leaf fan in his state! Hunter completed three rounds of training for our OPP collision reconstructionists and their new Trimble S7 kits at OPP headquarters in Orillia. Thanks Hunter! To his right is Mark Wright, TCRP Provincial Coordinator.

In 2019 the OPP acquired 59 Trimble S7 Robotic Total Station kits from Cansel. Training was carried out over three sessions in Orillia by Hunter Martin from the Kentucky State Police Critical Incident Response Team. Hunter has been a lieutenant with the Kentucky State Police department for 22 years and a collision reconstructionist since 2004. He began teaching forensic mapping in 2013.

“The OPP replaced aging reconstruction measuring equipment with Trimble’s S7 Robotic Total Station kits - an all in one solution”, explained Hunter Martin. “During training I noticed that OPP officers were able to quickly learn the data collection software as it was simple and intuitive. The drawing software now allows them to explore their scene in 3D, something they previously did not have. After attending a week-long training on the equipment and software, the officers were able to quickly capture data in the field and produce scale diagrams for court presentation.”

Trimble Forensics has end-to-end hardware and software solutions designed specifically to help law enforcement and private sector agencies handle the toughest information-collection challenges. It’s not only backed by highly trained professionals like Hunter who are committed to the law-enforcement mission, it comes with unparalleled service, training and local support through Cansel. Cansel and Trimble deliver every day, because you do. Your professional integrity depends on it, and you can count on Trimble's software and instruments and partners like Cansel to be as dedicated as you are.

Cansel and Trimble Forensics very much appreciated being invited to the RCMP AGM in St. John’s Newfoundland in October. Bryce Adams, Trimble’s Applied Forensics Expert, is pictured on the balcony at RCMP HQ in St. John’s, demonstrating Trimble’s SX10 Scanning Robotic Total Station.

For more information about the Trimble Forensics solutions contact Cansel’s new Forensics agent, Dave Shaw.