NCJ Number
132721
Journal
Canadian Journal of Criminology Volume: 33 Issue: 3-4 Dated: (July-October 1991) Pages: 333-346
Date Published
1991
Length
14 pages
Annotation
Currently, non-urban policing in Canada is being influenced by a mix of social, economic, and political factors.
Abstract
Municipal and RCMP police in Canada's small towns and rural areas are being forced to respond to cultural pressures for operational modernization, to economic pressures for cost effectiveness and organizational accountability, to political pressure for decentralized Federal and rationalized Provincial control, and to internal occupational pressures for more managerial autonomy and occupational flexibility. It is hypothesized that in response to these changes, non-urban policing in Canada (except in Ontario and Quebec), which is in a process of modernization and regionalization, will eventually develop into a provincially-based system and force the RCMP to become exclusively a Federal police force. The various consequences of these changes for the structure and style of non-urban policing are identified and include a diminishing of municipal authority and influence, a contraction of Federal power and an expansion of provincial power, a gain in power for police chiefs, and a loss of power for local municipalities. 7 notes and 11 references (Author abstract modified)