This article may rely excessively on sources too closely associated with the subject , potentially preventing the article from being verifiable and neutral.(June 2022) |
Royal Newfoundland Constabulary | |
---|---|
Abbreviation | RNC |
Motto | "Safer Communities Through Policing Excellence" |
Agency overview | |
Formed | 1841 |
Preceding agency |
|
Employees | 545 (2015, approximately) |
Annual budget | Total RNC $60,043,208 Total Current $48,454,517 (2012-2013) |
Jurisdictional structure | |
Operations jurisdiction | Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada |
The area served by the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary | |
Population | 526,702 |
Legal jurisdiction | Provincial |
Governing body | His Majesty in Right of Newfoundland |
Constituting instrument |
|
General nature | |
Operational structure | |
Headquarters | 1 Fort Townshend, St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador |
Officers | 420 (approximately) |
Civilians | 125 (approximately) |
Minister responsible |
|
Agency executive |
|
Facilities | |
Office or detachments | 6 |
Website | |
www |
The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary (RNC) is the provincial police service for the province of Newfoundland and Labrador.
The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary is one of three provincial police forces in Canada, alongside the Ontario Provincial Police and the Sûreté du Québec . Uniquely, the responsibility for policing in Newfoundland and Labrador is not granted to municipalities. In Ontario and Quebec, the provincial police provide frontline police services only to small communities or at the request of a municipal council; in Newfoundland and Labrador, the Constabulary operates in all communities by default. Since 1949, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police have provided police services in the province's rural interior, in place of the RNC. [2]
As of 2023, the Constabulary currently serves or is expanding to serve the northeast Avalon Peninsula (metropolitan St. John's); the Bay of Islands and the Humber Valley (metropolitan Corner Brook); and western Labrador (Churchill Falls, Labrador City, and Wabush). [3] [1] [4]
The first police constables in Newfoundland and Labrador were appointed by Governor Henry Osborn to six separate judicial districts in 1729. In the 19th century, the RNC was modeled after the Royal Irish Constabulary [5] with the secondment in 1844 of Timothy Mitchell to be Inspector General. The administration of police services was centralized under one Inspector and General Superintendent of Police in 1853. [6] Legislation governing the Newfoundland Constabulary was passed by the House of Assembly in 1871.
In January 1909, John J. Sullivan became the first Newfoundland-born police chief of the Constabulary, a post he held until September 1917. [7]
In 1935, the Newfoundland Commission of Government established the Newfoundland Ranger Force, a police service modelled on the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, to serve rural parts of Newfoundland and Labrador. [8] The Ranger Force replaced the Newfoundland Constabulary outside of the Avalon Peninsula, the Humber Arm (and in particular, the four communities that make up present-day Corner Brook), Grand Falls, and other built-up communities on the island. [8]
During World War II, the Newfoundland Constabulary provided police and investigative services to the foreign militaries stationed at St. John's, famously investigating the 1942 Knights of Columbus Hostel fire, a fatal structure fire believed to have been an arson attack. [9] [10]
After Newfoundland and Labrador joined Canada in 1949, the Ranger Force was disbanded and replaced by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, which also replaced the Newfoundland Constabulary outside of the City of St. John's. [11]
In 1979, Queen Elizabeth II of Canada conferred a royal patronage on the Newfoundland Constabulary in recognition of its long history of service to Newfoundland and Labrador. [11] The force subsequently changed its name to the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary.
The first women were sworn in as constables in 1980. [11]
Between 1981 and 1986, the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary gradually re-expanded, replacing the RCMP in the northeast Avalon Region, parts of Labrador, and Corner Brook. [11]
In 1998, RNC officers were authorized to begin carrying their handguns on their belt. [12] Previously, officers were required to keep their firearms locked in the trunk of their car unless they were needed.
On May 3, 2005, the RNC made a formal exchange of colours with the Garda Síochána, one of two successor forces to the Royal Irish Constabulary. The exchange of colours was to mark the historic links between policing in Newfoundland and Ireland.
In 2019, the force hired its first Black police officers, Paul Growns and Jevaughn Coley. [13]
In 2022, the Constabulary sparked controversy after it was revealed that a constable facing four domestic violence-related charges was granted the Chief of Police's Commendation, which recognizes "distinguished, commendable act of police duty or outstanding contribution to the RNC," during her criminal trial. [14]
In 2023, the Constabulary re-expanded again, replacing the RCMP in the areas surrounding Corner Brook, to Pasadena in the northeast and the Bay of Islands in the west. [4]
The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary operates out of five police stations, referred to as regional offices or detachments:
The Constabulary also maintains a satellite office of the St. John's Regional Office in Mount Pearl. [3]
Rank | Commanding officers | Senior officers | Police officers | Officer-in-training | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chief of Police | Deputy Chief of Police | Superintendent | Inspector | Staff Sergeant | Sergeant | Constable | Cadet | |
INSIGNIA | ||||||||
The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary maintains several specialized investigative and response units, including a tactical response team, criminal and general investigations units, a police dogs unit, a marine unit, a public order unit, and a collision reconstruction team. [15]
The RNC has operated a mounted unit since 1873. [16]
The current horse-mounted team was created in 2003, replacing a voluntary unit. The unit's history can be traced back to three earlier units, the Newfoundland Constabulary Mounted Force 1873–1894, New Fire Brigade Mounted Force 1895–1922, and Newfoundland Constabulary 1922–1951.
The unit has four Percheron horses: [16]
The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary maintains a fleet of vehicles of models from several major automakers, such as models including but not limited to the following:
Make/Model | Type | Status | Origin |
---|---|---|---|
Chevrolet Impala | General police vehicle | Canada | |
Chevrolet Tahoe | (marked) General police vehicle, Traffic Services | Canada | |
Chevrolet Silverado | (marked) General police vehicle, Forensic Identification Section | Canada | |
Dodge Charger | General police vehicle | Canada | |
Ram pickup | Parking Enforcement, Document Services Section | United States | |
Ford Police Interceptor | Highway Unit, General police vehicle, Traffic Services | United States | |
Ford Expedition | (marked) Supervisor Truck, Traffic Services, Special Operations | United States | |
Ford F-150 | General police vehicle, Forensic Services Section | United States | |
GMC Sierra | General police vehicle | United States | |
Dodge Durango | General police vehicle | United States | |
Ford Explorer (Ford Police Interceptor Utility) (2020+) | General police vehicle | United States |
As a result of the recommendations of the Select Committee on the Arming Policy of the RNC, members on operational duty were permitted to wear sidearms starting 14 June 1998. [17] Previously, members were required to keep all firearms secured in the trunk of the police cruiser and were only deployed with permission from the Chief.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is the national police service of Canada. The RCMP is an agency of the Government of Canada; it also delivers police services under contract to 11 provinces and territories, over 150 municipalities, and 600 Indigenous communities. The RCMP is commonly known as the Mounties in English.
State police, provincial police or regional police are a type of sub-national territorial police force found in nations organized as federations, typically in North America, South Asia, and Oceania. These forces typically have jurisdiction over the relevant sub-national jurisdiction, and may cooperate in law enforcement activities with municipal or national police where either exist.
The Protective Policing Service, operated by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, provides security details for domestic and foreign VIPs when abroad.
Aunt Martha's Sheep is a song written by Terrence White and Arthur Butt of Perry's Cove and later re-written by Ellis Coles and performed by Dick Nolan. It was primarily viewed as a slight on the Royal Canadian Mounted Police the police force for the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The song got airplay in the 1970s, but less after that. Released in 1972 it became one of Dick Nolan's signature songs. The song tells the tale of a group of Carmanville sheep-stealers who hoodwink an investigating RCMP officer by insisting their stew was made of moose.
The National Search and Rescue Program (NSP) is the name given by the Government of Canada to the collective search and rescue (SAR) activities in Canada. Until 2015, the NSP was administered by the National Search and Rescue Secretariat (NSS).
Law enforcement in Canada is the responsibility of police services, special constabularies, and civil law enforcement agencies, which are operated by every level of government, some private and Crown corporations, and First Nations. In contrast to the United States or Mexico, and with the exception of the Unité permanente anticorruption in Quebec and the Organized Crime Agency of British Columbia, there are no organizations dedicated exclusively to the investigation of criminal activity in Canada. Criminal investigations are instead conducted by police services, which maintain specialized criminal investigation units in addition to their mandate for emergency response and general community safety.
The Newfoundland Ranger Force was the police force of the Dominion of Newfoundland. It provided law enforcement and other government services to outports for 15 years. It existed from 1935 to 1949, at which point it was merged into the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). 204 men served as Rangers during its existence, though at any given time the force did not exceed 72 members.
A territorial police force is a police service that is responsible for an area defined by sub-national boundaries, distinguished from other police services which deal with the entire country or a type of crime. In countries organized as federations, police responsible for individual sub-national jurisdictions are typically called state or provincial police.
Articles related to the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador include:
The Mount Cashel Orphanage, known locally as the Mount Cashel Boys' Home, was a boys' orphanage located in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The orphanage was operated by the Congregation of Christian Brothers, and became infamous for a sexual abuse scandal and cover-up by the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary and NL justice officials.
Integrated Security Unit (ISU) is a joint-services infrastructure security unit created to secure major events in Canada. This administrative and operational entity was first created by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in 2003.
Paul Alfred Davis, is a Canadian politician who was the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador and Leader of the Opposition in the province. Davis served as the 12th premier of Newfoundland and Labrador from September 26, 2014, to December 14, 2015. He was the member of the House of Assembly for Topsail-Paradise from 2015 to 2018, previously representing Topsail from 2010 to 2015.
Ayre & Sons, Ltd. was a department store chain in Newfoundland, Canada. The chain was formed in 1859 in St. John's, Newfoundland by Charles R. Ayre. Ayre opened his flagship store on Water Street in St. John's in 1859. After Newfoundland joined the Canadian confederation in 1949, Ayre's opened some more stores across the province in the 1960s, with locations in Mount Pearl, Carbonear, Corner Brook, and Wabush. A location in the Avalon Mall in St. John's also opened when the mall opened in 1967. However, the company began to encounter financial problems in the 1980s, and in 1991, Ayre and Sons filed for bankruptcy.
Sherry Gambin-Walsh is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly in the 2015 provincial election. She represents the electoral district of Placentia-St. Mary's as a member of the Liberal Party. Prior to entering politics, Gambin-Walsh was a nurse.
The D Division is the division of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police responsible for federal policing in Manitoba and, at times, northwestern Ontario. Headquartered in Winnipeg, the division is commanded by Assistant Commissioner Scott McMurchy and consists of 1089 police officers and 438 support staff.
The police in Canada's ranks differ according to the different police forces and depend on different laws at the federal, provincial, and municipal levels.
Her Majesty's Penitentiary (HMP), located in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada is the primary facility for housing medium and maximum security male prisoners in Newfoundland and Labrador.
The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary sexual abuse scandal occurred in 2014 and concerned allegations of assault by Constable Doug Snelgrove.
The Newfoundland and Labrador order of precedence is a nominal and symbolic hierarchy of important positions within the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It has no legal standing but is used to dictate ceremonial protocol at events of a provincial nature.