Many people presume that York Regional Police might not be particularly gay friendly, but nothing could be further from the truth. In reality they have been incredibly committed to local LGBT affairs and extemely accomodating over the past five years.

This stems from the appointment of the present Chief of Police - Armand La Barge, in 2002. Shortly after he took up office, he created a new department called the 'Culture and Diversity Resources Bureau' [More Information] which reports directly to the Chief. Additionally, a York Regional 'Police / Community Advisory Council' (PCAC) [More Information], meets with the Chief bi-monthly to promote harmony and understanding between all members of the York Regional Police and the communities served. These key developments demonstrate the commitment of Chief La Barge to his belief that YRP has an essential role to play in helping build safe communities that are fully accepting of diversity. A representative of gayyorkregion.com who is also involved with several other local LGBT organizations and initiatives, meets regularly with officers of the Culture and Diversity Resources Bureau and is also a member of the Police / Community Advisory Council. This ensures ongoing dialogue and consideration to issues of specific importance to our region's LGBT residents.

If you have been assaulted or you are the victim of any other crime resulting from your sexuality, or perceived sexuality, we stongly recommend that you report it to York Regional Police.

If you would prefer to deal directly with the Diversity and Cultural Resources Bureau, please contact:

Or, if you would like to report a crime whilst remaining anonymous, you can contact York Region Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS. You can also submit a tip online at www.1800222tips.com. Crime Stoppers takes information 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You never have to identify yourself or testify in court. Calls are not recorded and no one involved with Crime Stoppers knows the identity of the callers. Crime Stoppers does not have call display.

Lastly, if you would like to suggest new initiatives that would enable the police to better serve the needs of our community, comment on your own experiences with York Regional Police, or inform us of specific community safety concerns that you may have, please write to us. The information you provide will enable us to better represent your needs in our ongoing dialogue with York Regional Police.

According to the Canadian Red Cross, about one in five kids are bullied in Canada, often on school grounds. But, a major study in Ontario indicates that teachers are aware of only a small percentage of bullying incidents, making intervention difficult.

When it comes to homophobic bullying in York Region's schools, there have also been recent cases reported to schools and the school board, where effective intervention could and should have occured but didn't.

So if you are being bullied, we have an action plan for you:

For bullying that is happening at your school:

GayYorkRegion.com doesn't provide support services, but we're very well connected to all of the agencies that do. If you're about to be made homeless, being sexually abused or facing any other serious problem, we're here to help you.