Royal Canadian Mounted Police

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police was established in 1920 with the amalgamation of the [[Royal North-West Mounted Police]] and the [[Dominion Police]]. Sworn members of the RCMP have jurisdiction as a [[Law enforcement officer|peace officer]] in all provinces and territories of Canada.<ref name="RCMPAct2">''[https://www.canlii.org/en/ca/laws/stat/rsc-1985-c-r-10/latest/rsc-1985-c-r-10.html Royal Canadian Mounted Police Act]'', RSC 1985, c R-10, s 11.1.</ref> Under its federal mandate, the RCMP is responsible for enforcing federal legislation; investigating inter-provincial and international crime; border integrity;<ref>{{cite web |date=22 July 2008 |title=Border Law Enforcement |url=https://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/bi-if/index-eng.htm |access-date=2022-07-11 |website=Royal Canadian Mounted Police}}</ref> overseeing [[Canadian peacekeeping]] missions involving police;<ref>{{cite web |date=9 August 2018 |title=Peace operations |url=https://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/en/peace-operations |access-date=2022-07-11 |website=Royal Canadian Mounted Police}}</ref> managing the [[Canadian Firearms Program]], which licenses and registers firearms and their owners;<ref>{{cite web |date=10 October 2019 |title=Firearms |url=https://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/en/firearms |access-date=2022-07-11 |website=Royal Canadian Mounted Police}}</ref> and the Canadian Police College, which provides police training to Canadian and international police services.<ref>{{cite web |date=25 June 2018 |title=Canadian Police College |url=https://www.cpc-ccp.gc.ca/index-eng.htm |access-date=2022-07-11}}</ref> Policing in Canada is considered to be a constitutional responsibility of provinces;<ref name="CanEncPiC2">{{cite web |title=Police in Canada |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/police |access-date=2022-07-02 |website=The Canadian Encyclopedia}}</ref> however, the RCMP provides local police services under contract in all provinces and territories except [[Ontario]] and [[Quebec]].<ref name="RCMPConPolOverview2">{{cite web |date=15 April 2009 |title=Community policing |url=https://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/ccaps-spcca/index-eng.htm |access-date=2022-07-10 |website=Royal Canadian Mounted Police}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=30 August 2019 |title=Contract policing |url=https://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/ccaps-spcca/contract-eng.htm |access-date=2022-07-10 |website=Royal Canadian Mounted Police}}</ref>{{NoteTag|note=[[Newfoundland and Labrador]] maintains an [[Royal Newfoundland Constabulary|independent provincial police service]], but it is only responsible for some urban communities of the province. The RCMP provides provincial and local policing in the province's rural areas.}} Despite its name, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police are no longer an actual [[mounted police]] service, and horses are used only at ceremonial events and certain other occasions.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police was established in 1920 with the amalgamation of the [[Royal North-West Mounted Police]] and the [[Dominion Police]]. Sworn members of the RCMP have jurisdiction as a [[Law enforcement officer|peace officer]] in all provinces and territories of Canada.<ref name="RCMPAct2">''[https://www.canlii.org/en/ca/laws/stat/rsc-1985-c-r-10/latest/rsc-1985-c-r-10.html Royal Canadian Mounted Police Act]'', RSC 1985, c R-10, s 11.1.</ref> Under its federal mandate, the RCMP is responsible for enforcing federal legislation; investigating inter-provincial and international crime; border integrity;<ref>{{cite web |date=22 July 2008 |title=Border Law Enforcement |url=https://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/bi-if/index-eng.htm |access-date=2022-07-11 |website=Royal Canadian Mounted Police}}</ref> overseeing [[Canadian peacekeeping]] missions involving police;<ref>{{cite web |date=9 August 2018 |title=Peace operations |url=https://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/en/peace-operations |access-date=2022-07-11 |website=Royal Canadian Mounted Police}}</ref> managing the [[Canadian Firearms Program]], which licenses and registers firearms and their owners;<ref>{{cite web |date=10 October 2019 |title=Firearms |url=https://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/en/firearms |access-date=2022-07-11 |website=Royal Canadian Mounted Police}}</ref> and the Canadian Police College, which provides police training to Canadian and international police services.<ref>{{cite web |date=25 June 2018 |title=Canadian Police College |url=https://www.cpc-ccp.gc.ca/index-eng.htm |access-date=2022-07-11}}</ref> Policing in Canada is considered to be a constitutional responsibility of provinces;<ref name="CanEncPiC2">{{cite web |title=Police in Canada |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/police |access-date=2022-07-02 |website=The Canadian Encyclopedia}}</ref> however, the RCMP provides local police services under contract in all provinces and territories except [[Ontario]] and [[Quebec]].<ref name="RCMPConPolOverview2">{{cite web |date=15 April 2009 |title=Community policing |url=https://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/ccaps-spcca/index-eng.htm |access-date=2022-07-10 |website=Royal Canadian Mounted Police}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=30 August 2019 |title=Contract policing |url=https://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/ccaps-spcca/contract-eng.htm |access-date=2022-07-10 |website=Royal Canadian Mounted Police}}</ref>{{NoteTag|note=[[Newfoundland and Labrador]] maintains an [[Royal Newfoundland Constabulary|independent provincial police service]], but it is only responsible for some urban communities of the province. The RCMP provides provincial and local policing in the province's rural areas.}} Despite its name, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police are no longer an actual [[mounted police]] service, and horses are used only at ceremonial events and certain other occasions.

The Government of Canada considers the RCMP to be an unofficial national symbol,<ref>{{cite web |date=June 5, 2020 |title=Unofficial symbols of Canada |url=https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/services/unofficial-symbols-canada.html |website=Government of Canada}}</ref> and in 2013, 87 per cent of Canadians interviewed by [[Statistics Canada]] said that the RCMP was important to their national identity.<ref name="WalrusRCMP">{{cite web |date=October 20, 2021 |title=The Dark Side of the RCMP |url=https://thewalrus.ca/can-the-rcmp-be-saved/ |website=The Walrus}}</ref> However, the service has faced criticism for its broad mandate,<ref name="Mackcleans">{{cite web |title=The RCMP is broken |url=https://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/the-rcmp-is-broken/ |access-date=2022-07-10 |website=Maclean's|date=July 9, 2020 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Hager |first1=Mike |date=2 May 2021 |title=RCMP's dismal record on investigating money laundering in B.C. is improving, Cullen Commission hears |website=Globe and Mail |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/british-columbia/article-investigating-money-laundering-in-bc-an-issue-for-rcmp/ |access-date=2022-07-10}}</ref> and its public perception in Canada

The Government of Canada considers the RCMP to be an unofficial national symbol,<ref>{{cite web |date=June 5, 2020 |title=Unofficial symbols of Canada |url=https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/services/unofficial-symbols-canada.html |website=Government of Canada}}</ref> and in 2013, 87 per cent of Canadians interviewed by [[Statistics Canada]] said that the RCMP was important to their national identity.<ref name="WalrusRCMP">{{cite web |date=October 20, 2021 |title=The Dark Side of the RCMP |url=https://thewalrus.ca/can-the-rcmp-be-saved/ |website=The Walrus}}</ref>

==History==

==History==