Private Policing In Canada

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Policing before the turn of 19th century was the work of ordinary citizens. Although there were unofficial constables who were elected by the public in their areas, private policing was the model of policing that existed. Privately driven model of policing was rendered ineffective by the advent of the industrial revolution; an enormous upsurge in population caused an increase in crime. This created a void that was filled by the government in the early 19th century (Ericson, 1982). They are three levels of government in Canada: Federal, Provincial, and Municipality. Additionally, municipals are sometimes further broken down into upper and lower governments. Each level has its own functions. Law enforcement in Canada is controlled by the Government and police forces are constituted by each level of the government (Kelly, 1976). …show more content…
The provincial police services are responsible for protecting their provinces. Municipalities both lower and upper are given powers by the provincial police force to establish police department to protect their own jurisdiction. They are also some few private police forces with some limited powers e.g. The Canadian Nation Railway Company has its own police force whose work is to protect its properties. Every police department is unique. They differ from each other due to a myriad of reasons. For example, they are under different jurisdictions. Some are huge while others and small. The largest police department in Canada is Royal Canadian Mounted police with 29,188 members of staff. (“Organizational structure,” 2016). Their history is different and the communities that each serve are also different. Each department faces different challenges consequently, have distinctive character and mode of