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Police Resources in Canada, 2009

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Police personnel and expenditures

This report is based upon data collected through the Police Administration Survey conducted by Statistics Canada. This survey collects data on police personnel and expenditures from each municipal, provincial and federal (Royal Canadian Mounted Police [RCMP]) police service in Canada. Data presented in this report represent police personnel as of May 15 2009 and final expenditures for the year 2008 (or 2008/2009 for those services operating on a fiscal year).

Third largest annual increase in police officer strength in 30 years

Police officer strength in Canada has increased steadily over the past decade, following a period of decline throughout the 1990’s. In 2009, there were just over 67,000 active police officers working on the snapshot date, a rate of 199 officers per 100,000 population. The 1.5% increase in the rate since 2008 was the third largest annual increase in 30 years (Table 1). The 2009 rate was 9% higher than a decade ago, but 4% lower than its peak in 1975.

While police officer strength has been increasing, Canada's police-reported crime rate, as well as the crime severity index, have generally been decreasing. At the same time, the 2008 weighted clearance rate, which measures the amount and severity of crime that is solved by police, was at its highest point in the past decade. 1 

The increase in the number of officers nationally since 2008 (+1,802) was mainly the result of increases in Ontario (+613), Alberta (+465) and British Columbia (+335).

Civilian personnel, such as clerks, dispatch officers and by-law enforcement officers, has increased over the past 10 years at a rate more than twice that of police officers. In 2009, there were nearly 27,000 civilian personnel accounting for 29% of all policing personnel or 1 civilian per 2.5 police officers. Clerical support personnel represented the highest proportion (39%) of these employees, followed by management professionals (28%), and communications and dispatch personnel (14%).

Saskatchewan continues to report the highest rate of police officer strength among the provinces

In 2009, most provinces reported increases in the rate of police officer strength from the previous year with the largest occurring in Alberta (+5%) and Newfoundland and Labrador (+4%) (Table 2).

Over the past decade, every province and territory, with the exception of the Yukon, recorded increases in the rate of police officer strength. The largest provincial increases were in Newfoundland and Labrador (+25%) and Nova Scotia (+18%).

As is historically the case, police per capita in 2009 was highest in the territories, where police-reported crime rates tend to be well above the rest of the country.

Among the provinces, Saskatchewan reported the highest rate of police officers for the ninth consecutive year followed by Manitoba. These provinces also had the highest police-reported crime severity index (PRCSI) values. Prince Edward Island reported the lowest rate of police strength as well as the lowest PRCSI. Alberta, despite a 5% increase in 2009, still reported the second lowest rate of police per capita.

Among census metropolitan areas (CMAs), the largest gains in police officer strength since last year occurred in St. John’s (+7%) and Sherbrooke (+5%) (Table 3-1).

Thunder Bay had the highest rate of police officers among all CMAs, followed by Saint John and Regina. Kelowna and Moncton had the lowest rates.

Among Canada’s ten largest census metropolitan areas, the rate of police officers was highest in Montréal and Winnipeg.

Number of female officers grew at a faster pace than male officers in 2009

The representation of women police officers continues to increase. In 2009, the number of female officers continued to increase (+5%) at a faster pace than male officers (+2%) (Table 4).

In 2009, females accounted for about one in five officers in Canada compared to approximately one in eight a decade ago. As in previous years, Quebec and British Columbia reported the highest proportion of female officers among the provinces in 2009. The lowest proportions were in Prince Edward Island, Manitoba and Nova Scotia (Table 6).

The proportion of female constables has remained relatively stable over the past 5 years at around 21%; however, the proportion of female officers in senior ranks has increased from 9% to 14% during the same time period. (Table 5).

Police expenditures rose for the 12th consecutive year

After adjusting for inflation, police expenditures rose for the 12th consecutive year, reaching over $11 billon in 2008 (Table 7). This translates to $344 per Canadian. Total spending was 6% higher in constant dollars 2  than that in 2007, the largest annual increase seen since 1990. This increase can be partly explained by the increase in personnel.

Among the provinces Ontario ($294) and Quebec ($273) reported the highest per capita costs for municipal and provincial policing, while Prince Edward Island ($168) and Newfoundland and Labrador ($199) had the lowest (Table 8).

Expenditure comparisons should be made with caution as costs and services included in police operating budgets tend to differ considerably among police services.

Weighted clearance rate

In order to enhance the comparability of clearance rates - the proportion of crimes solved by police - among police services, a new measure called the weighted clearance rate has been created. Similar to the concept behind the new Crime Severity Index, the weighted clearance rate means that serious crimes solved by police count for more than the solving of less serious crimes.

The national police weighted clearance rate in 2008 was 37.6, reaching its highest point since 1998, the first year that data were available.

Among police services serving populations of over 100,000, the highest weighted clearance rates were found in Codiac Regional Police (Moncton area) (46.0), and three Ontario police services: Durham Regional (Oshawa area) (45.5), Windsor (45.1) and Greater Sudbury (44.8).

References

Wallace, Marnie. 2009. “Police reported crime statistics in Canada, 2008.”Juristat. Vol. 29, no. 3. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 85-002-X.

Overview of policing in Canada

Policing in Canada is the responsibility of all three levels of government: federal, provincial/territorial and municipal. While the federal government is responsible for criminal law, under the Constitution Act, each province and territory assumes responsibility for its own policing at the provincial, territorial and municipal levels. Further, many First Nations communities also administer their own police service.

Federal policing

The federal government, through the (RCMP), is responsible for the enforcement of federal statutes in each province and territory, and for providing services such as forensic laboratories, identification services, the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC), and the Canadian Police College.

Provincial/territorial policing

Provincial policing involves enforcement of the Criminal Code and provincial statutes within areas of a province not served by a municipal police service (i.e., rural areas and small towns). In some cases, police boundaries may overlap. For example, in some areas provincial police perform traffic duties on major provincial thoroughfares that pass through municipal jurisdictions.

Newfoundland and Labrador, Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut are the only areas in Canada without municipal police services. In Newfoundland and Labrador the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary, which is a provincial police service, provides policing to the three largest municipalities (St. John’s, Corner Brook, and Labrador City) as well as to Churchill Falls. Newfoundland and Labrador contracts the RCMP to provide policing to the remaining municipalities and the rural areas.

The RCMP provides provincial/territorial policing and community policing services in all provinces and territories except Quebec and Ontario, which maintain their own provincial police services: the Sûreté du Québec and the Ontario Provincial Police, respectively. In Ontario and Quebec, the RCMP only provides policing at the federal level. Where a provincial policing contract is granted to the RCMP, the RCMP automatically assumes the provincial policing powers. In the provinces and territories where the RCMP are contracted to provide provincial level policing, the provinces are billed 70% of total contract costs in most cases. The remaining funds come from the federal government.

Municipal policing

Municipal policing consists of enforcement of the Criminal Code, provincial statutes, and municipal by-laws within the boundaries of a municipality or several adjoining municipalities that comprise a region (e.g., Durham Regional Police in Ontario) or a metropolitan area (e.g., Montréal Urban Community). Municipalities have three options when providing municipal policing services: to form their own police force, to join an existing municipal police force, or to enter into an agreement with a provincial police force or the RCMP. In cases where the RCMP is granted a policing contract to police a municipality, under the billing agreement, municipalities with a population under 15,000 are billed 70% of total expenditures, and municipalities of 15,000 and over are billed 90% of total costs.

First Nations policing

In addition to federal, provincial/territorial and municipal policing, there are also various types of First Nations policing agreements for Aboriginal communities in place across Canada. The First Nations Policing Policy (FNPP) 3 , announced in June 1991 by the federal government, was introduced in order to provide First Nations across Canada (with the exception of Northwest Territories and Nunavut) with access to police services that are professional, effective, culturally appropriate, and accountable to the communities they serve.

The FNPP is implemented across Canada through tripartite agreements negotiated among the federal government, provincial or territorial governments and First Nations. The agreements are cost-shared 52% by the Government of Canada and 48% by the province involved. Depending on the resources available, the First Nation may develop and administer its own police service, as is the case in most of Québec and Ontario, or it may enter into a Community Tripartite Agreement (CTA). Like self-administered agreements, CTAs are negotiated between the Federal government, the province or territory in which the First Nation is located, and the governing body of the First Nation. Under such agreements, the First Nation has its own dedicated contingent of officers from an existing police service (usually the RCMP). Best efforts are made for these police services to be staffed by Aboriginal police officers.