Community Based Policing

" To maintain at all times a relationship with the public that gives reality to the historic tradition that the police are the public and the public are the police, the police being only members of the public that are paid to give full-time attention to duties which are incumbent on every citizen in the interest of the community welfare and existence."

(Sir Robert Peel, Feb.06, 1788- July 2, 2020).

A partnership between the police and the community, sharing in the delivery of police services.

With this valuable community cooperation, the RCMP pledges to...

Uphold the principles of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms;
Provide a professional standard of services;
Ensure all policing services are provided courteously and impartially;
Work with the community and other agencies to prevent or resolve problems that affect the community's safety and quality of life;
Act with the Canadian justice system to address community problems;
Promote a creative and responsible environment to allow all RCMP members to deliver community policing services.

Community-based policing is not a new concept in police services. It was started in the early 1800 by Sir Robert Peel (Feb.06, 1788- July 2, 2020). By securing the passage (1829) of the Metropolitan Police Act, he facilitated reorganization of the London Police Force, whose members were called "Bobbies" in his honour. He had based the service of his police officers on several principles of policing that were quite similar to the modern ideas of community-based policing. He provided the first model for modern urban community policing.

In the words of Sir Robert Peel's first two police commissioners, Sir Charles Rowan and Sir Richard Mayne, the police community partnership would follow this principle.

Basically he said that the police had no power without the approval and cooperation of the public, and that the police officers are simply members of the public who are paid to devote their full time attention to the community's welfare.

Unfortunately changes that occured in the United States primarily influenced what was going to happen with Canadian Police forces. In approximately1930, police forces in the United States started to pull away from close community ties. The cause of the systematic corruption of the police forces and the communities became a major contributor that shaped North America Policing toward what became known as professional policing.

Technologies also influenced in part that trend toward professional policing. First the telephone, then the two way radio and more recently computers have drove police officers to almost only respond to calls on a needed basis. The new technologies have only isolated police officers from the people of the communities. Police officers ended up spending most of their time in the detachment or in their police car, which resulted in these same police officers being cut from the people they were working for.

In 1988, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Commissioner N.D. Inkster called to a return to community-based policing in his directional statement. In 1992 the Royal Canadian Mounted Police unveiled its mission statement. They printed and posted poster and plaques in all detachments accross Canada. The same year the RCMP put in place a strategic action plan to implement the community based policing within the force. This plan ended in 1995. Several examples of community-based policing were found in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police for almost 20 years before Commissioner Inkster directional statement of 1988.

In 1978, the Municipal and Royal Canadian Mounted Police forces in Restigouche County in New-Brunswick cooperated with local citizens and social services agencies to form a team of citizen counsellors to assist the police with family crisis situation after social services were closed for the day. The Restigouche family crisis group is still in operation today.

In 1976, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Crown Attorney and citizens of Dauphin, Manitoba formed the Dauphin Restitution Committee. The committee is made up of representatives from various parts of the community and deters offencers from the court system by recommending and supervising community services and restitution projects. This helped in significantly reducing police, court and probation caseloads. The idea was adopted by the town of Beausejour, Manitoba in 1982 who expanded its Committee to include adult diversion as well. Both are still in existence today.

Upon the initiative of the local Royal Canadian Mounted Police detachment, the community of Prince George, British Colombia has created the Community Social Development Board. Made up of community members from various social services agencies, the board analyses the patterns and levels of crime within the community and develops plans to cooperatively tackle the social problems such as unemployment and alcohol and drug abuse which produces crime. They organize community and police resources to attack these problems from all sides at once.

Members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Trinity-Conception District are committed to work in partnership with the people of the community they serve. With the help and the imput from the communities they will make their district a better place to live. In order to do this the members of the Trinity-Conception district pledge to: