The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is the national police force of Canada. They are responsible for policing in provinces, local communities, municipalities, and international airports. Contrary to the theoretical implications of the name of the force, they ride horses only during ceremonies (Reichel, 2018). They control law and order throughout the country and are referred to by two other names: Gendarmerie Royale Du Canada and Mounties (colloquially).
The RCMP operates in 8 of 10 Canada’s provinces, all of the territories and 150 municipalities. The duties of its members include enforcing federal law and providing policing and protection services (Indeed Career Guide, n. d.). Since this police force represents the major government agency that enforces federal law, they have jurisdiction over investigating and persecuting federal crimes, such as counterfeit production, drug trafficking, criminal activities and border integrity-related crimes. That way, by seeing a federal police officer, one will come across a member of the RCMP.
As mentioned earlier, this police force works in most of Canadian provinces. Ontario and Quebec are the two provinces that are not under the force’s jurisdiction, as they have their own organizations (OSCE POLIS, n. d.). In British Columbia, the Royal Canadian Mounting Police force is called the E-Division. In these areas, they have two main responsibilities: detachment policing and policing infrastructure (Province of British Columbia, n. d.). The former involves response-to-call duties, traffic enforcement, uniformed patrols and investigative services. Policing infrastructure includes targeting major crimes and serial homicides, providing investigative support and services such as technological surveillance. Thus, while traveling across the rural parts of British Columbia, if necessary, one may find an RCMP officer in the provincial police.
Regarding the local level, the RCMP has its own detachments in municipalities. For example, the North Vancouver one consists of the city, district and provincial units of the police force (Province of British Columbia, n. d.). In this detachment, all members of the units report to the same commanding officer. In this area, along with the other 149 municipalities, the RCMP provides policing services and may even perform counseling duties to decrease the crime rate in the country. For example, they can provide educational seminars for young people on such issues as drug use and gang violence. Thus, by visiting one of the 150 municipalities, one may come across an RCMP police officer following their duties.
References
Indeed Career Guide. (n.d.). What does an RCMP vs police officer do? (Plus steps to become one). Web.
OSCE POLIS. (n.d.). Canada. Web.
Province of British Columbia. (n.d.). Municipal policing. Web.
Province of British Columbia. (n.d.). Provincial policing. Web.
Reichel, P. L. (2018). Comparative Criminal Justice Systems: A Topical Approach (7th ed.). Pearson.