Module 1
What is the definition of a peace officer? Give 8 examples.
Mayor, warden, reeve, sheriff
Correctional officers
Police officers, constables, bailiffs
Border and customs officers
Immigration officers
Fishery officers/guardians
Aircraft pilots in flight
Canadian Forces members under NDA
Name the 6 levels of policing in Canada and give a brief explanation of each one.
Federal (RCMP) : Deal with forensics, anti-terrorism, border enforcement, INTERPOL, child exploitation coordination, national weapons teams, international peacekeeping, and marine/ports operations.
Provincial : It is a provincial responsibility for justice. They deal with policing outside of federal jurisdiction. Generally used in municipalities under 5000. Examples include OPP, Sûreté du Québec, and Royal Newfoundland Constabulary.
Contract : The RCMP are contracted by provinces/municipalities such as PEI, NS, NB, MB, SK, AB, and BC.
Municipal : Provincial and municipal law enforcement governed by provincial police acts, concerned with criminal code enforcement.
Regional : Most provincial police acts allow for the amalgamation of municipal policing services into regional police forces. It is said they can better respond to the changing nature of crime. However, this amalgamation is often controversial and emotive.
First Nations : Historically, these communities did not have access to policing services. However, the supreme court of Canada ruled that reserves were not exempt from all provincial laws. So the First Nations Policing Program was created.
Explain the evolution of policing.
Ancient policing : kin policing, community responsibility
Code of Hammurabi : false accusations punished, judges accountable
Roman influences : Praetorian Guard, urban cohorts, vigiles
French systems : Gendarme = centralized, professional
English systems : Frankpledge = decentralized, community-based
English influence : Magna Carta (1215), Hue and Cry, Parish constables, bow street runners, thief-takers
Sir Robert Peel : London metropolitan police (1829) = introduced policing by consent and community legitimacy.
Give a brief description of the canadian policing structure.
The Canadian police employ over 70 000 officers who work at federal, provincial, municipal, and First Nations levels. This organization has over $20 billion in expenditures as of 2023 due to salaries, technology costs, training costs, and equipment costs. Sadly, women make up only 23% of officers and diversity initiative are ongoing to change this issue.
How do you become a police officer? What are the basic qualifications? What are the preferred qualifications? What essential competencies do you need to possess? What developmental competencies do you need to possess?
Basic qualifications : grade 12, citizenship, fitness, integrity, and judgement
Preferred qualifications : speak multiple languages, postsecondary education, and life experience
Essential competencies : self-control, communication, flexibility, and confidence
Developmental competencies : assertiveness, collaboration, and community orientation
In the Ontario Police Act a police officer is a chief or police officer. What does this exclude?
Special constables
First Nations constables
Municipal law enforcement officers
Auxiliary members
Name the characteristics and concerns of private policing.
Characteristics : major industry, private to public ratio (3:2 in 2008), licensing systems, consent-based authority
Concerns : rights violations, commodification of security, metadata surveillance
Give a description of early Canadian policing.
Pre confederation : Québec night patrols (1651), Halifax police (1749)
Characteristics : informal policing, militias/local citizens, poor training, corruption, political influence
Early mandates : maintain order, enforce morality, apprehend criminals
What are the 5 divisions of police? How are their ranks structure?
Divisions : patrol, investigations, support services, HR, and administration
Rank structure : paramilitary hierarchy
Name 3 recruiting diversity programs.
1. PEACE
2. OPPBound
3. Aboriginal Cadet Development
What is the difference between public and private policing?
Public policing = State employed, trained, and paid officers who operate under a law enforcement mandate. They are a non-military organization but embrace a militaristic hierarchy who can legally use force.
Private policing = Security industries hired by private entities, who are primarily concerned with private property protection and the manufacture and maintenance of surveillance technology. They are under consent-based authority and function with many Charter constraints.
Give a brief discription of the Garrison state as explained by Harold Lasswell.
Lasswell wrote this theory in the context of WWII and describes a state in which specialists in violence gain power. This leads to the creation of a centralized authority that allows for the expansion of surveillance. Which in turn creates a society organized around security in which the line between civilian and military are blurred.
Explain the RCMP history.
Formation : 1873 NWMP, Dominion police
Roles : nation building, strike breaking, and provincial policing
Criminal Code protection : desertion offences involving RCMP
What are the 3 major concerns surrounding the RCMP structure?
1. accountability
2. community integration
3. transfer policies
Give a description of recruit training. (focus areas, scenario-based training examples, tactical principles)
Focus areas : academics, physical training, and skills
Scenario-based training : domestic disputes, traffic stops, and public intoxication
Tactical principles : use of cover, verbalization, threat cues, tactical repositioning, and survival mentality
What is the difference between police as an organization and police as a process?
Organization = Job is to protect the public, maintain peace and order, and assist during crises.
Process = Involved myriad groups, both domestic and international who's jobs are to prevent and mitigate threats to security.
Explain the differences between militarism (Michael Mann), extreme militarism (Alfred Vagts), banal militarism (Catherine Lutz), and militarization (Michael Geyer).
Militarism : war preparation normalized, military solutions accepted
Extreme militarism : military values dominate society, obedience/authority glorified
Banal militarism : militarism normalized culturally, symbols/media/narratives
Militarization : a society organized for violence production with effects on media, education, politics, and policing
Explain the correlation between colonialism and policing.
Monchalin explains that colonialism lead to many problems in policing including structural issues, overrepresentation, and the causation of macro and micro impacts.
MMIWG : see an overrepresentation in homicide and disappearrances in these communities due to institutional neglect that caused irreparable trauma and marginalization.
LGBTQ2+ communities : In major Canadian cities, relationships between LGBTQ communities and police have historically been marked by conflict, particularly during the 1950s when the Royal Canadian Mounted Police targeted suspected homosexuals through surveillance, purges, blackmail tactics, and initiatives such as the “Fruit Machine” to detect homosexuality.
What are the main governance roles of police boards, police associations, and police leadership?
Governance boards : oversee municipal policing with varying mixes of elected and appointed members, though concerns about political influence and competence persist, leading to oversight reforms such as Ontario’s Inspector General of Policing.
Associations and unions : represent officers in grievances and contract negotiations, operate as essential services without the right to strike, and are increasingly engaged in political and digital advocacy.
Leadership : shapes organizational culture, strategy, and community relations while balancing law enforcement responsibilities with management demands, though leadership development and succession planning remain under-researched.
Explain the socialization of policing.
Police officer socialization occurs through both formal academy training and informal interactions with experienced officers, shaping recruits’ attitudes, confidence, and understanding of their role, while the academy’s hierarchical paramilitary structure can also foster cynicism, suspicion, and an “us vs. them” mentality that may conflict with community policing and modern expectations around work-life balance.
List the early 21st century policing trends.
Crime-fighting → fear reduction
Community policing
Selective call response
Responsibilization strategies
Rise of private security
Increased digital technology
Rethinking militaristic structures
Explain Charles Tilly's statement "War makes the state".
States expand their power by identifying threats, promising protection, extracting resources, and building institutions such as police forces, taxation systems, surveillance systems, and courts.
What are the functions of police according to liberal, conservative, and Marxist beliefs?
Liberal concept : safety, service, and crime fighting
Conservative concept : order maintenance, riot control
Marxist concept : class control, moral enforcement
How is police performance measured?
Traditional metrics : crime rates and clearance rates
New metrics : community engagement, diversity, and public trust
3 pillars :
1. crime : crime reduction, offender apprehension
2. community safety : social order and quality of life
3. efficiency : resource management
What training is done during service?
Continuous learning : firearms, CPR, first aid, legal updates
Specialized training : organized crime, drug investigations, tactical squads, air services, and cybercrime
Online training : Indigenous awareness, domestic violence, and respectful workplace training