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Police Commissions and Boards in Canada

NCJ Number
80598
Author(s)
P C Stenning
Date Published
1981
Length
300 pages
Annotation
Prepared as a background study for the Commission of Inquiry Concerning Certain Activities of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in 1979, this report traces the history of municipal police boards and provincial police commissions. It also reviews their functions and examines such critical issues as police independence, accountability, and the political status of police-governing authorities in Canada.
Abstract
The concept of a police board as a governing authority of a municipal police force has had a varied and controversial history in Canada. A period of 118 years elapsed between the time the municipal police board was first introduced in Upper Canada (now Ontario Province) and when it was introduced in Nova Scotia Province. Their composition, status, independence, authority, powers, and functions have varied greatly over the years and across different jurisdictions. Because they represent an alternative to direct governance of municipal police forces by municipal councils, they are highly controversial institutions. Of the approximately 130 boards existing in Canada today, 71 are in the Province of Ontario. The police forces which they govern vary in size from less than 10 members to more than 5,000. Major responsibilities of police boards include preparation and control of the police force budget; collective bargaining; promulgation of rules and regulations governing the organization, structure, and procedures of the police force; recruitment and hiring; and general policy direction. The report highlights concerns about police boards' public accountability and recent criticisms of police boards in Ontario Province. The adoption of provincial police commissions in eight provinces was motivated by several objectives, including the accomplishment of greater coordination and efficiency of policing services throughout the province; establishment and imposition of minimum standards of recruitment, training, discipline, and working conditions for police forces; the provision of an independent authority to review internal disciplinary matters; and the implementation of an overall policy for the province. In Ontario and Quebec an additional motivation was the possible spread of organized crime within these jurisdictions. Existing provincial police commissions vary considerably in the size and nature of their membership, the size and organization of their staffs, and the size of their budgets. The report describes provincial policing by the RCMP, the various provincial police commissions and their composition, and the commissions' specific powers and functions. These functions include prescription of standards, assessment of municipal police forces and policing needs, and visit and inspection programs. Footnotes and about 40 references are provided.