Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) is the federal police force of Canada. It also serves as a provincial and municipal police force on a contract basis in all provinces and territories except Ontario and Quebec. Members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police commonly are called “Mounties,” though they now ride horses only in special ceremonies.
Duties.
As a federal police force, the RCMP’s scope of operations includes fighting organized crime, terrorism, crimes related to the illegal drug trade, crimes of an economic nature, and offenses that threaten the integrity of Canada’s national borders. The RCMP also protects high-level individuals, such as the prime minister of Canada and important foreign dignitaries. In addition, it provides the government of Canada with a full range of physical and computerized security services.
The RCMP also manages the National Police Services, a group that offers valuable resources to members of all Canada’s law enforcement and criminal justice agencies. These resources include national criminal databases and specialized services, such as police education and scientific analyses of criminal evidence.
Contract policing—that is, police work governed by contracts between the RCMP and various municipalities and provinces or territories—is a major function of the force. Such contracts are in effect in about three-fourths of Canada. Contract policing is the way most RCMP members get started and acquire the hands-on skills that will serve them throughout their careers.
Organization and training.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is organized under the authority of the RCMP Act. In accordance with the act, a commissioner who reports to Canada’s minister of public safety heads the force. The RCMP employs thousands of police officers, civilians, and public service workers. Employees are arranged into more than a dozen organizational units called divisions and several hundred detachments across the country.
All policemen and policewomen undergo a 24-week period of rigorous training at the RCMP Academy in Regina, Saskatchewan. Among other requirements, applicants to the RCMP must have Canadian citizenship, be at least 19 years old, and have a high school education.
Uniform.
The original Canadian Mounties wore uniforms modeled upon British military standards. The uniforms included gray or beige riding breeches, loose-fitting red tunics, black riding boots, spurs, and pith helmets or pillbox-shaped caps. These uniforms soon evolved to fit the demands of the Canadian landscape and weather.
Today, the ceremonial uniform of the RCMP includes a fitted red jacket, dark blue riding breeches, tall brown riding boots, and a wide-brimmed hat. The everyday uniform consists of a gray shirt and dark blue trousers, a police cap, a bulletproof vest, and police equipment. RCMP members who follow the Sikh religion may wear turbans as part of their uniform.
History.
In May 1873, the Parliament of Canada established a police force to bring law, order, and federal authority to the nation’s western plains. By the spring of 1874, the federal government in Ottawa, Ontario, had sent about 300 recruits to Manitoba for police training. That summer, the recruits set out for southern Alberta, where whisky traders were operating illegally among the First Nations (Native American) people. The new police force was named the North-West Mounted Police (NWMP).
By 1885, the NWMP had grown to include 1,000 members. That year, the North West Rebellion, an uprising against the Canadian government, broke out in what is now central Saskatchewan (see North West Rebellion ). The NWMP helped the Canadian militia stop the uprising. During the Klondike Gold Rush of the 1890’s and the Anglo-Boer War of 1899-1902 (also known as the South African War), the NWMP gained respect for its police work. As a result, King Edward VII of the United Kingdom, who also served as Canada’s monarch, bestowed the title Royal on the force. Its name thus became the Royal North-West Mounted Police (RNWMP).
In 1917, the western provinces of Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan created their own provincial police organizations. The RNWMP was then free to shift its attention back to policing the Canadian frontier. However, changes came about in 1919, when Parliament decided to merge the RNWMP with the Dominion Police, a federal police force with authority in eastern Canada. When the merger took effect on Feb. 1, 1920, the new organization was renamed the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Its headquarters were moved to Ottawa from Regina.
The RCMP returned to provincial policing under a new contract with Saskatchewan in 1928. From 1932 to 1938, the size of the RCMP rose to about 2,350 members. The force took over provincial policing in Alberta, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. The years following World War II (1939-1945) saw a continuous expansion of the RCMP’s role as a provincial force. In 1950, it assumed responsibility for provincial policing in Newfoundland (now Newfoundland and Labrador) and absorbed the British Columbia Provincial Police.
During the 1900’s, the RCMP participated in some major military conflicts. During World War I (1914-1918), RNWMP squadrons served in France, Belgium, and Siberia. In World War II, a Provost Corps consisting of RCMP volunteers went overseas to provide military police support for Canadian troops. Its aviation and marine sections became part of the Royal Canadian Air Force and the Royal Canadian Navy. The RCMP also took over many responsibilities related to home-front defense, including domestic security and intelligence (gathering secret information).
During the second half of the 1900’s, the RCMP began to modernize. It actively recruited women and minority groups and increased its use of new technologies. After two commissions of inquiry into the organization and operations of the RCMP, the force was reorganized. In 1984, the Canadian government created a separate agency for domestic intelligence, known as the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS).
