Criminal Justice 251: Comprehensive Study Notes on Canadian Policing
Defining Police and Policing
Police: Defined as agents authorized to secure public order and enforce public law.
Policing: Encompasses activities intended to maintain security or social order, occurring in both public and private spheres.
Conceptual Complexity: There is no universal consensus on these definitions because the roles are complex and police frequently respond to non-criminal events.
Pluralization of Policing: This refers to the expansion of policing to include a variety of actors beyond traditional public officers, such as semi-public and private actors, para-police, by-law officers, private security, and intelligence agencies.
Drivers: The main drivers for pluralization are cost, increasing demand for services, and the expansion of surveillance.
Concerns: This shift raises critical questions regarding accountability and the protection of individual rights.
Theoretical Perspectives on Policing
Social Contract Perspective:
Views police as politically neutral protectors of public safety.
Operates on the premise that citizens surrender certain rights to the state for the collective good.
This perspective is used to justify the police use of force as a necessary means to maintain order.
It remains the dominant view in mainstream policing disputes.
Critical Perspective:
Views police as tools utilized by the state and the ruling class to suppress dissent and maintain the status quo.
Focuses on issues of racial profiling and systemic racism within the institution.
Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Policing:
CRT examines the intersection of race, law, and power.
It posits that racism is an everyday experience for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour) individuals.
Applications: Training, predictive policing, and mental health response.
Advocates for structural transformation and social justice.
The Legislative Framework and Policing Mandates
Constitutional and Federal Laws: Police powers are defined by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Constitution Act, and the Criminal Code.
The RCMP: Specifically governed by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Act.
Additional Legislation: Includes the Anti-terrorism Act, the Youth Criminal Justice Act, and various privacy laws.
Provincial Statutes: Provincial laws govern matters such as traffic, liquor, and specific Police Acts, which define civilian complaints, discipline, and oversight.
Democratic Values: Policing in a democratic society is guided by justice, equality, accountability, and efficiency.
The Tension: A fundamental tension exists between the requirement for public safety and the preservation of civil liberties. Police are often described as being "caught in the middle" of conflicting societal expectations.
Mandate Contradictions: Officers must balance protecting public order with individual rights. Their involvement in protests and political conflicts is viewed as unavoidable, requiring transparency and neutrality.
The Scope and Reality of Police Work
Media and Perception: Media shapes public understanding, often distorting reality by emphasizing crime-fighting. In truth, most police work involves non-criminal issues.
Social and Crisis Response: Police act as social service workers and crisis responders, dealing with homelessness, mental illness, and drug overdoses.
24/7 Responders: Police are often the only resource available at all hours, particularly in remote communities, making them both the "first and last resort."
Mandated Responsibilities: Defined by legislation; include crime prevention, law enforcement, peacekeeping, emergency response, and victim assistance. These vary by jurisdiction.
Assumed Responsibilities: These arise from community expectations and gaps in other services. They include community outreach, partnerships, and quality-of-life initiatives.
Diversification Challenges: Public expectations are often unrealistic. Police must handle complex behavioral health cases; it is estimated there are annual encounters with mentally ill persons.
De-tasking: A movement to reduce the police role in social issues, advocating for counselors or paramedics as crisis responders instead.
Historical Origins of Policing
Early Origins: Began as self-policing in tribal and agrarian societies. Codified laws appeared in ancient civilizations (e.g., Hammurabi Code, Roman Law).
Early England Systems:
Hue and Cry: A requirement for the community to pursue lawbreakers collectively.
Frankpledge System: Groups of families held responsible for maintaining order.
Tythingmen and Hundredmen: Early civilian law enforcers.
Shire-Reeves: The precursors to modern sheriffs, representing royal authority.
The Watch and Ward System: Introduced in 1252; later reinforced by the Statute of Winchester (1285). The Justice of the Peace Act (1361) centralized authority.
Modern Policing Foundations:
Bow Street Runners: Created by Henry Fielding in the mid-1700s.
Sir Robert Peel: Established the London Metropolitan Police in 1829.
Peel’s Principles of Policing: Emphasized crime prevention, public cooperation, impartiality, and the use of minimal force. Officers were selected from the community and wore blue uniforms to appear distinct from the military.
Evolution of Canadian Policing
Early Municipal Policing: Influenced by French and British systems. Constables were appointed in Quebec City () and Upper Canada ().
Upper Canada: The Parish and Town Officers Act (1793) formalized the role of constables. Rose Fortune is recognized as Canada's first female police officer.
Political Influence: Early police hiring was often driven by patronage and city council influence, leading to high levels of corruption and lack of training.
NWMP/RCMP Origins: The North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) was founded in 1873. Unlike Peel’s urban model, it was a military-style force designed to police Rupert’s Land and assert federal authority.
Renaming: Renamed the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in 1920 after absorbing the Dominion Police ().
Remote North: Officers performed civil duties like mail delivery and land management, relying heavily on Inuit Special Constables for survival.
Political Dissent: The RCMP was historically used to suppress strikes (e.g., Winnipeg General Strike, 1919) and monitor activists (e.g., Operation PROFUNC in the 1950s).
Morality Policing: Targeted the 2SLGBTQ+ community, including the use of the "fruit machine" to detect homosexuality and conducting the 1981 Toronto bathhouse raids.
Contemporary Structure and Personnel
Levels of Policing: Federal, Provincial, Municipal, and First Nations.
Personnel Statistics: There are over officers in Canada. Approximately are concentrated in five services: RCMP, Toronto Police, OPP, S'ret) du Qu)bec (SQ), and Service de police de la Ville de Montr)al (SPVM).
Expenditures: 2023 operating costs were nearly .
Gender in Policing: Women represent of police officers as of 2023.
RCMP Features:
Headquartered in Ottawa with divisions.
Provides contract policing for provinces and municipalities; these contracted areas lack local police boards, raising concerns about accountability.
The RCMP union (National Police Federation) was only established in 2019.
Provincial Police: Only Ontario (OPP), Quebec (SQ), and Newfoundland (RNC) maintain independent provincial forces. Other provinces contract the RCMP.
First Nations Policing (FNIPP): Provides self-administered or tripartite agreements.
The Nishnawbe-Aski Police Service polices communities.
Funding Issues: Chronic underfunding exists because FNIPP is not designated as an "essential service." A 2024 Supreme Court ruling highlighted that communities face a "false choice" between an impoverished culturally responsive force or returning to provincial policing.
Pluralization Ratios: Private security personnel now outnumber public police in a ratio of .
Recruitment and Training
Recruitment Crisis: Declining interest post-COVID, negative media, and the defund movement have impacted numbers. The RCMP was short officers in 2022.
Basic Requirements: Citizenship/residency, clean record, physical fitness, Grade 12 education, and a driver's license.
Ontario Shift: In 2023, Ontario eliminated the post-secondary education requirement for recruits.
Diverse Recruitment: Barriers include systemic bias, racism, and a perceived unwelcoming culture. Initiatives target Indigenous and racialized applicants to achieve "representative bureaucracy."
Training Models:
RCMP Depot (Regina): A paramilitary "boot camp" model.
Justice Institute of British Columbia (JIBC): Primarily for municipal forces.
Competency-Based Training: Focuses on communication, ethics, and decision-making through andragogy (adult learning) and case-based learning.
Training Deficits: There is often an imbalance, with enforcement prioritized over community engagement or interpersonal skills.
The Police Occupation and Culture
The Working Personality: Formulated by Jerome Skolnick; traits include cynicism, suspicion, a preoccupation with danger, and difficulty balancing authority with rights.
Blue Light Syndrome: An emphasis within police culture on high-risk, action-oriented tasks.
Police Culture:
Positive: Camaraderie and trust in high-risk environments.
Negative: Resistance to change, secrecy (code of silence), and mental health stigma.
Occupational Stress:
Approximately of RCMP and municipal officers are on mental health leave.
More Canadian officers die by suicide than in the line of duty.
"Inside the Building" Stress: Often cited as worse than street stress; includes poor leadership and toxic organizational culture.
Organizational Justice: The degree to which officers perceive their workplace as fair.
Distributive Justice: Fairness in reward/burden distribution.
Procedural Justice: Transparency and consistency in decision-making.
Interactional Justice: Dignity and respect from supervisors.
Tired Cop Syndrome: Sleep deprivation from shift patterns (e.g., 2 days / 2 nights / 4 off); of officers suffer from sleep disorders.
Patrol and Operational Realities
The Backbone: Patrol is the primary function of policing. Common law duties include preventing crime, protecting life/property, preserving peace, apprehending offenders, and enforcing laws.
Rural Policing: Officers are "true generalists," acting as social workers, nurses, and jail guards due to resource scarcity.
Deployment Metrics:
Allocated Time: Reactive response to 911 calls via Computer-Aided Dispatch (CAD).
Unallocated Time: Proactive engagement. Best practice suggests of an officer's time should be unallocated.
Response Times: Priority 1 best practice is minutes; Toronto's average in 2024 was minutes.
Supervision Styles:
Traditional: Focus on compliance and procedure.
Innovative: Encourages new initiatives.
Supportive: Prioritizes officer well-being but may avoid accountability.
Active: Works alongside officers; models behavior but can lead to micromanagement.
Discretion and Decision-Making:
Standard established by the Supreme Court: Discretion must be Subjective (officer believes it is appropriate) and Objective (a reasonable person would agree).
Typifications: Categorizing people or situations which can lead to implicit bias and over-policing.
Biased Policing: Black and Indigenous people are disproportionately stopped.
Street Checks: Suspicion-based stops.
Carding: Random stops without suspicion (highly controversial and regulated or banned in some provinces).