The Dominion Police Force was the

federal police A law enforcement agency (LEA) is any government agency responsible for the enforcement of the laws. Jurisdiction LEAs which have their ability to apply their powers restricted in some way are said to operate within a jurisdiction. LEAs ...

force of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

between 1868 and 1920, and was one of the predecessors of the

Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal police, federal and national police service of ...

. It was the first federal police force in Canada, formed the year following the

Canadian Confederation Canadian Confederation (french: Confédération canadienne, link=no) was the process by which three British North American provinces, the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, were united into one federation called the Dominion ...

to enforce federal laws and perform policing duties for the

Federal Government of Canada The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown-in- ...

. On 1 February 1920, the Dominion Police was merged with the Royal North-West Mounted Police to form the Royal Canadian Mounted Police as the new federal police force of Canada.

History

The Dominion Police was formed as the first

force with

jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, areas of jurisdiction apply to local, state, and federal levels. J ...

over the entirety of Canada, built from the Western Frontier Constabulary which had been in existence since 1864. It was mainly active in

Eastern Canada Eastern Canada (also the Eastern provinces or the East) is generally considered to be the region of Canada south of the Hudson Bay/ Strait and east of Manitoba, consisting of the following provinces (from east to west): Newfoundland and Labrado ...

, while the North-West Mounted Police, founded in 1873, handled the expansive and sparsely populated North-West Territories of

Western Canada Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces, Canadian West or the Western provinces of Canada, and commonly known within Canada as the West, is a Canadian region that includes the four western provinces just north of the Canada� ...

. It was created on May 22, 1868, in response to the assassination of Thomas D'Arcy McGee, a prominent

Irish-Canadian ga, Gael-Cheanadaigh , image = Irish_Canadian_population_by_province.svg , image_caption = Irish Canadians as percent of population by province/territory , population = 4,627,00013.4% of the Canadian population (2016) , po ...

politician and MP for

Montreal West Montreal West (French: Montréal-Ouest) is an on-island suburb in southwestern Quebec, Canada, on the Island of Montreal. Montreal West is a small, close-knit community made up primarily of single-family dwellings. The town is largely composed ...

, in Ottawa on 7 April. McGee was killed by elements of the

Fenian Brotherhood The Fenian Brotherhood () was an Irish republican organisation founded in the United States in 1858 by John O'Mahony and Michael Doheny. It was a precursor to Clan na Gael, a sister organisation to the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB). M ...

, a powerful

Irish nationalist Irish nationalism is a nationalist political movement which, in its broadest sense, asserts that the people of Ireland should govern Ireland as a sovereign state. Since the mid-19th century, Irish nationalism has largely taken the form of c ...

organization based in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, in the new federal capital less than a year after

Confederation A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a union of sovereign groups or states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

. The Canadian authorities were worried about the power of the Fenian Brotherhood, which had already launched three major raids into Canada in 1866 before McGee's death, and that existing

law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of government who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by discovering, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules Rule or ruling may refer to: Education ...

agencies were not capable of protecting state security. Its primary functions were: * protection of buildings of the

, including the Parliament Buildings on

Parliament Hill Parliament Hill (french: Colline du Parlement, colloquially known as The Hill, is an area of Crown land on the southern banks of the Ottawa River in downtown Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Its Gothic revival suite of buildings, and their archit ...

, the naval yards at Halifax and

Esquimalt The Township of Esquimalt is a municipality at the southern tip of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. It is bordered to the east by the provincial capital, Victoria, to the south by the Strait of Juan de Fuca, to the west by Esquim ...

, * providing bodyguards for government leaders, * carrying out

secret service A secret service is a government agency, intelligence agency, or the activities of a government agency, concerned with the gathering of intelligence data. The tasks and powers of a secret service can vary greatly from one country to another. For ...

work arising from the activities of the Fenian raids, * enforcing certain federal laws such as those relating to counterfeiting and human trafficking, and * keeping the peace for specified railways and canals that were under construction when the ''Public Works Peace Preservation Act, 1869'' was brought into force. They gradually also acquired responsibilities for compiling

fingerprint A fingerprint is an impression left by the friction ridges of a human finger. The recovery of partial fingerprints from a crime scene is an important method of forensic science. Moisture and grease on a finger result in fingerprints on surfac ...

and

criminal record A criminal record, police record, or colloquially RAP sheet (Record of Arrests and Prosecutions) is a record of a person's criminal history. The information included in a criminal record and the existence of a criminal record varies between coun ...

s, and administering a

parole Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...

service. In

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, commissioners of the Dominion Police were vested with the same powers as

police magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

s and

justices of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

in the province, and

constables A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...

had the same status as those appointed under provincial law. The Dominion Police informally handled some provincial-level policing duties in rural Ontario until the creation of the

Ontario Provincial Police The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) is the provincial police service of Ontario, Canada. Under its provincial mandate, the OPP patrols provincial highways and waterways, protects provincial government buildings and officials, patrols unincorp ...

in 1909. In May 1918, the Dominion Police were reassigned to the

Department of Militia and Defence The Department of Militia and Defence was the department responsible for military land forces in Canada from 1906 to 1921. The Minister of Militia and Defence was in charge of this department. The department was created in 1906 when the Brit ...

and became a civilian wing of the

Canadian Military Police Corps The Canadian Provost Corps (C Pro C) was the military police corps of the Canadian Army. The Canadian Provost Corps was authorized on 15 June 1940. The Canadian Provost Corps was amalgamated with the police forces of the Royal Canadian Navy and R ...

(CMPC). In the early 1900s, the Royal North-West Mounted Police had declined as the North-West Territories was divided into new provinces and territories, and due to the general unpopularity of the force for conduct during industrial disputes such as the Winnipeg General Strike. On 1 February 1920, the civilian members of the CMPC, including the Dominion Police, were merged with the

, and the CMPC was disbanded on 1 December 1920.

Structure

The Dominion Police consisted of Commissioners and constables appointed for that purpose, and its authority extended over the provinces and all parts of the territories not patrolled by the RNWMP. The organization was decentralized, with many Commissioners being appointed with either provincial or national responsibility, and it had two national co-commissioners until 1876. The national Commissioner also acted as the Commissioner of the Montreal Water Police, which reported separately to the Minister of the Marine and Fisheries. Although formed under different statutory authority, its constables were appointed as police officers under the 1868 Act. The commissioners that had responsibility for all of Canada were: :* Gilbert McMicken (1869-1871) :* Hewitt Bernard (1871-1876) :* Charles-Joseph Coursol (1869-1876) :* Zebulon Aiton Lash (1876-1880) :* Augustus Keefer (1880-1885) :* Sir

Percy Sherwood Percy Sherwood (23 May 1866 - 15 May 1939) was a German-born composer and pianist of English nationality. He was born in Dresden, the son of a lecturer in English at Dresden University, John Sherwood, and a German mother Auguste Koch, who had be ...

(1885-1919) :* Colonel Gilbert Godson-Godson (1919-1920) From 1913, while Sherwood was the commissioner responsible for all of Canada, the title for this senior commissioner role was adjusted to Chief Commissioner, to whom all regional or departmental commissioners reported.

Ranks

The ranks of the Dominion Police were as follows: *Chief Commissioner ("chief" designation added 1913) *Commissioner *Inspector *Sub-inspector *Sergeant *Constable

Notes and references

Notes

References

External links

* , Federation of American Scientists
Dominion Police, 1868–1919
Library and Archives Canada {{authority control 1868 establishments in Canada 1920 disestablishments in Canada Royal Canadian Mounted Police Former Canadian federal departments and agencies Legal history of Canada Defunct law enforcement agencies of Canada Ministries established in 1868 Uniformed services of Canada Fenian Raids