Railroad Police - Canada

Canada

In Canada, the construction of railways served a similar nation-building function as it did in the U.S. and also brought new police agencies into existence. Years before Confederation, railway constables were given full police powers within one quarter mile of company property and vehicles. The Canadian Pacific Railway initially relied on the Dominion of Canada Police, which later became the North-West Mounted Police during construction of the transcontinental railroad, but by the latter 1880s were employing their own police.

The large numbers of navvies recruited to build the railways brought security problems for rail companies. In 1900, the CPR established its Special Service Department. It worked closely with municipal, federal, and provincial police and given a mandate to prevent and investigate pilferage, theft, vandalism, and sabotage as well as policing strikes.

The CPR police was also responsible for closely guarding Chinese workers, who were considered "detainees" and virtually treated as prisoners under the Chinese Immigration Act of 1885. The Special Service was dissolved in 1904 following a scandal involving the business practices of a CPR Labour Department agent in Montreal, but was resurrected in 1913 as the Department of Investigation.

Today, Canadian National (CN) and Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) police departments are the only federal railway police services operating in Canada. Police officers for the railway are federally sworn under the Railway Safety Act. This Act allows a superior court (federal) judge to appoint a person as a police constable. These officers are employed by the railway and are in place strategically within Canada's rail infrastructure with a primary focus of reducing deaths and injuries along each railway's network of operations. These officers typically work toward investigations involving criminal and provincial violations such as traffic enforcement and accident investigations and working to further educating the public about the dangers of rail operations and consequences that can result from complacency. To note Canadian National was a crown corporation until 1994 when it was transferred from government ownership to private industry. During this time CN Police officers were part of the federal government but after transitioned to working for private industry.

The railway police federal oath of office provides the following wording (Now under the Railway Safety Act section 44(1)):

"I, ________________, Judge of the Superior Court in and for the Province of ___________, pursuant to the powers vested in me by the Canada Transportation Act, do hereby appoint ________________ to act as Constable upon and along the lines of the _______________, as prescribed by Section 158 of the said Act.

I, ________________, having been appointed a constable to act upon and along the lines of _________ Railway under the provisions of the Canada Transportation Act do swear that I am a Canadian citizen; that I will well and truly serve the legally constituted authorities in the said office as constable without favor or affection, malice or ill-will; that I will do the best of my power cause the peace to be kept and prevent all offences against the peace; and that while I continue to hold the said office I will to the best of my skill and knowledge discharge the duties thereof faithfully, according to Law."

Additionally, in Canada these police officers are also appointed or sworn provincially to provide additional police powers as it relates to each province's interest. The primary jurisdictional police are still responsible for all law enforcement in its jurisdiction and due to reduced manpower and coverage the railway police are considered a secondary response agency. Often the primary jurisdictional police are required to deal with matters that are occurring on or in relation to railway property. However, railway police will still assume jurisdiction depending on the seriousness of the incident again due to their reduced numbers and capabilities may require local police to assume control over an incident with the railway police acting in a supporting / assisting role. Railway police also support local police at incidents not in relation to the railway.