Ontario Provincial Police are doubling the strength of the Haldimand detachment to deal with the Caledonia dispute.
Commissioner Julian Fantino announced yesterday the detachment will get 50 more officers by the end of the year.
Personnel will no longer be brought in from across the province.
More than 2,500 officers have rotated through the town during the 10-month native occupation of a housing site.
Fantino said strengthening the detachment with permanent postings will help build bridges with the community and be more cost efficient.
Fantino said his officers have been "badly maligned." He wants to set the record straight and he's going to be more involved.
"I'm going to push back," he said.
Officers, he added, are "putting themselves in harm's way to keep the peace here. They shouldn't be criticized the way they have been by far too many people."
He said about 30 officers have been injured in Caledonia.
Fantino also criticized Gary McHale, a Richmond Hill man who is planning to put up Canadian flags and yellow ribbons on utility poles opposite the disputed land on Jan. 20. Fantino said he is like a bad cold that won't go away.