One of the first specialized units to be created by the Hamilton Police was the Motorcycle Squad.  In 1919 by Chief William Whatley proposed the formation of the Squad to improve the response time to crimes, as well as assist in daily patrolling.  

The formation of a motorcycle squad occurred in 1921 – 100 years ago.  Originally an 8-man squad, it was revered for its improvement of police response time. Prior to the motorcycle squad, response time was slow, and often, crimes would be over by the time police arrived. The motorcycle’s response time was even faster than that of the automobile. An automobile required up to ten minutes to reach a destination while motorcycles were able to reach the farthest given point in the city limits in less than two minutes from receiving a call. They were able to travel at speeds of 80 to 100 miles per hour.  

Original members on the squad included Jack Williamson, E. Edwards, J.A. Bleakley and Harry Burville and Reg. Pryer. This branch has diversified into specific services such as special events and traffic and most recently has been absorbed into the newly formed Traffic Safety Unit.

On Saturday 12, 1921 Constable Reg Pryer died in at King St E and Sanford, when a pedestrian stepped out in front of him while responding to a call. Reg was the first Motorcycle Police Officer to die while on duty in Ontario. Again, on November 21, 1925 another Motorcycle Officer, Constable Frederick Raynes was killed in an accident on King Street East, while responding to a call.

Only in the 1960’s did Ontario begin requiring all motorcycle drivers to wear helmets. It is quite likely that both officers may have survived, if they had been wearing a helmet.

Motorcycles remained as an important part of the Hamilton Police response capabilities. There were cruisers available but not very many. Most policing was done on Foot Patrol or Motorcycles. In 1945 the Hamilton had 14 police cars, 2 Wagons, 1 Ambulance and 5 motorcycles.

Over the next 50 years the Traffic Office maintained centralized control of the Motorcycle Squad and their numbers varied between five in 1946 to about 30 officers around the end of the century.

During these years these officers were a proud and important group, supporting patrol officers at many special events such as Parades, Protests and traffic enforcement, throughout the City.

In the 21st Century the motorcycles were decentralized out among the three patrol divisions and the numbers were reduced to about ten.

Their tasks remained somewhat similar, with a focus on local (Divisional) problems.