Law Enforcement in Canada Essays - Law Enforcement, Gendarmerie

Law Enforcement in Canada Under the Constitution Act of 1867, the federal government has the authority to enact criminal law and procedures, while the enforcement of laws and the administration of justice were delegated to the provinces ( Griffiths, 2013 ). This meant that enforcement of criminal laws are primarily a providential function , so they need to form police agencies . Each of Canada's jurisdictional levels has a police force . Large municipalities are responsible for providing their own police force to enforce federal crimina l codes and municipal bylaws . Providential police agencies enforce criminal codes and statu t es in parts of the providences without a police force. Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP ) is th e law enforcement arm of the federal government . They are entrusted with the enforcement of federal statutes such as drug laws, Indian laws, explosive laws and food and drug laws. All but 3 providences (Quebec, Ontario and Newfoundland and Labrador) contract out their regional law enforcement to the RCMP . This apparently simple three-tiered structure of policing in Canada is dramatically complicated by the practice of "contracting out" police services (Griffiths et al. , 1980). Federal The Royal Canadian Mounted Police was formed in 1920 by the union of the Royal Northwest Mounted Police and the Dominion Police. Since the 1950s , the RCMP assumed provincial policing responsibilities in 7 Canadian prov inces in a cost sharing operation called " contracting out." They mostly operate in sparsely populated or rural areas where there are small amount of people . In some small cities and towns, the RCMP is the only law enforcement agency for miles. In the Yukon and the Northwest territories, the RCMP is the only police force available. Also called the "Mounties," the RCMP has be come the most widely recognized symbol of Canada throughout the world. The exploits and daring of the Mounties were immortalized by Canadian, European, and American authors in the twentieth century in books and motion pictures of the square-jawed, stoic, strong Mountie (Griffiths, 2013). The RCMP provide s f rontline police services on a federal and on both providential and municipal level under the direction of the providential governments. T he y may be the most complex law enforcement organization in the world because they often find it difficult to serv e 2-3 masters at one time (Griffiths et. al, 1980) . Provincial The British North American Act (1867) is a provision that gave Canadian providences the power to police their own territory. O ntario and Quebec are the most populated providences in Canada, so they have their own law enforcement agencies . Newfoundland also has its own police force, but they limit their jurisdiction with in the populated areas; they contract out to the RCMP for rural police services. Providential police agencies have jurisdiction outs ide of large municipal areas or in municipalities that do not have their own police force; overall authority of all the King's Highways and the waterways . They also enforce pro vidential regulatory policies like liquor laws and aid smaller police agencies in criminal investigations (Griffiths et. al, 1980). Municipal Municipal police forces constitute the largest body of police in Canada, comprising about 55% of the total personnel in Canada and they handle the most crime (Griffiths et. al, 1980). Municipal police forces provide services to the most densely populated areas, usual ly urban areas above 50,000 people. Urban areas like Montreal and Toronto have their own police forces which enforce all forms of laws. They enforce criminal codes, municipal bylaws, providential statues and some federal statutes like the Narcotics Control Act. Some municipalities have chosen to not form a police force and have providential police agencies to police their territories ; others contract out to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. First Nations communities have their own municipal policing, as set out in the federal government's First Nations Policing Policy, which manages various types of arrangements, including self-administered policing and the use of dedi cated officers from existing police services such as the RCMP ( Goudge , Beare , Dupont , Duxbury, Huey , 2014 ) . Private Canada also has a number of police agencies that are hired and