Category:Law enforcement in Canada
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Although the Canadian constitution assigns authority over the criminal law for Canada (most of which is contained in the Criminal Code) to the federal government it places the actual enforcement and administration of criminal law under the authority of the provinces. Consequently, the way that policing services are provided will depend on the laws of the province in question. It is important to note though that there is also a federal police force (also sometimes referred to as a national police force) for Canada named the Royal Canadian Mounted Police or RCMP. This force is charged with enforcing certain federal laws throughout the entire country.
The laws of most provinces provide that in areas outside municipalities policing be handled by a provincial police force and, inside the towns and cities, by municipal police forces. However, only three of Canada's provinces actually have provincial police forces: the Ontario Provincial Police in Ontario, the Surete du Quebec in Quebec and the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary in Newfoundland and Labrador. In the remaining seven provinces the provincial governments contract the RCMP to act as the provincial police. As well, many cities and towns in Canada choose to contract either the RCMP or their provincial poilce force to serve as their municipal police force.
