There were 69,438 police officers in Canada in 2011. Policing is the most visible and often first-contact point most people have with the Canadian Criminal Justice System. Police ‘strength’ (number of employees) has grown over the past decade, while the crime rate (a measurement of police-reported crime) has decreased. Policing costs about six billion dollars annually to employ almost 70,000 police officers at three different levels: 1) Federal, 2) Provincial, and 3) Municipal. Since the 1970’s, arrangements have also been made for Aboriginal police forces, a fourth type, to serve many of the Aboriginal communities in Canada. The structure and authority at each level differs as do the responsibilities at each level. Following an introduction to the history of policing in Canada, each of these levels will be explained along with the specific responsibilities associated with each level. The necessity of Aboriginal police forces will also be explained.
The primary purpose of all Canadian policing is to maintain the peace and establish order. What constitutes ‘order’ and ‘peace’ is established by federal and provincial laws. Canadian legal tradition can be traced back to the 1600s when Quebec established a police force based on French tradition and Ontario (which was then known as Upper Canada) established law based on English tradition. Eventually the English system of policing was imposed upon the French communities in Canada. With the Constitution act of 1867 provincial policing was established for the Eastern, rural areas of the country. In 1873 the North West Mounted Police (NWMP, known today as the RCMP) were created by the Parliament of Canada. These police officers were responsible for halting aggression from American whiskey traders in Alberta. In addition, at this point in time, the NWMP were responsible for protecting Aboriginal people, as well as managing prairie fires and fighting threats to public health such as disease. In 1920 the NWMP was officially renamed the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and the responsibilities of this level of policing expanded. Thus, although the RCMP are recognized as a Canadian national symbol, the background of policing begins with municipal and subsequently provincial policing.
The RCMP are considered the federal police. They provide investigative and protective services to the federal government and serve as the provincial police (as well as municipal police in some areas) in all provinces and territories except Ontario and Quebec. In Nunavut, the Yukon and the Northwest Territories, the RCMP is the only operating police force, although this arrangement may change if Aboriginal Police Forces are established in these areas.
The RCMP focus on eight areas of policing. Customs and excise which involves investigating cases of international smuggling and enforcing the Customs Act in isolated areas of the country. Drug enforcement which requires enforcement of the laws identified in the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. Economic crime is an additional area of RCMP responsibility in which the focus is on commercial fraud, organized crime, technological crime, and securities fraud. Federal policing means a responsibility for administering 286 federal laws and 17 sets of regulations. Immigration falls within the responsibility of the RCMP and includes gathering information on the smuggling of aliens into Canada and the counterfeiting of passports and visas. The proceeds of crime division identifies and confiscates money or property that has been acquired through criminal activities. Criminal Intelligence activities specialize in gathering intelligence, or information, on organized crime and terrorist groups. Finally, international liaison and protective services provide security for federal officials and visiting heads of state.
Provincial police forces have jurisdiction in rural areas and in unincorporated regions around cities. The largest of these forces is the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), followed by the Suret” du Quebec and the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary. In other provinces and in other areas of Newfoundland and Labrador the RCMP operates as the provincial police. Examples of provincial policing responsibility include those of the OPP which include policing municipalities not required by law to maintain own police force and responding to municipal police requests for special assistance in emergencies. The OPP also provide traffic control on all 400-series and major highways in the province, investigative services on request to the coroner’s office and to other police ministries, along with additional assigned duties such as maintaining the provincial firearms registry, providing security and protecting government officials and dignitaries.
A number of large metropolitan areas in Canada employ municipal police. Municipal police have jurisdiction in towns or cities which are funded by each municipality. Smaller towns or cities that do not have sufficient municipal funds for police forces use provincial police or RCMP. This level of police force is organized into numbered divisions that service the local community. Divisions are then sub-divided into specialized crime squads. Such squads might include a Gang Crime Unit, Robbery Squad, Homicide Squad or Explosives Disposal Unit. The specific duties of municipal police officers include preserving the peace, preventing crimes from occurring, assisting victims of crime, apprehending criminals, laying charges and participating in prosecutions, executing warrants, and enforcing municipal bylaws.
Aboriginal policing was established with the First Nations Policing Policy which is administered by the Dept. of the Solicitor General. This level of policing represents a partnership among the federal/provincial/territorial governments and the Aboriginal peoples to develop police services for Aboriginal communities. Each First Nation can make an agreement with the federal or provincial governments to establish standalone Aboriginal Police Forces or to develop First Nations contingents within existing forces. The Dakota-Ojibway Police Service was the first standalone Aboriginal Police service established in 1977 in south west Manitoba. The force was made up of 21 officers who shared responsibility for 6 communities. Other aboriginal police forces overlap with other levels of policing. For example, the first RCMP detachment of Aboriginal officers was established in New Brunswick in 2000. The goal of such police forces is to offer services that are both professional and sensitive to the needs of the community. Many aboriginal communities demonstrate higher than average crime rates when compared to non-aboriginal communities along with unique socio-economic conditions such as poorer population health and barriers to education. The key advantage to aboriginal policing is that it allows for a problem-oriented approach. This can be contrasted with traditional policing which is felt by many to be too narrow to account for diverse systemic needs of specific communities. A problem oriented approach to policing is more socially focused and lets the police consider social and economic factors when enforcing the law and maintaining order.
While policing has many ‘routine duties’ (for example, traffic enforcement, negotiating neighbor disputes, or resolving family fights) the job of policing also can involve considerable risk. Policing activities have some unique characteristics such as the potential for force and coercion, violence, danger, and uncertainty. These characteristics make policing activities unlike any other in the Canadian criminal justice system except for corrections. However, in a correctional environment (for example, prison) the offenders are controlled. The result of these conditions has been the evolution of a police subculture that officers seem to share. In addition the powers granted to police in terms of maintain order are constantly considered and as the first level of contact, police discretion is essential.
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