RCMP Fact Sheets

Corporate Facts

QUICK FACTS • The RCMP has approximately 26,000 employees, including regular and civilian members, and Public Service Employees. • The RCMP presence: Headquarters, 4 regions, 14 divisions, 750+ detachments • More than 75,000 volunteers assist the RCMP. • The Force administers or enforces more than 250 federal statutes and agreements. • The Canadian Police Information Centre provides shared computer access to more than 80,000 law enforcement officers from coast to coast.

Overview
Providing police services to a country as large and diverse as Canada requires an organization that is both dynamic and well structured. The RCMP has changed with the times to deliver leading edge policing to all Canadians.

Organized For Efficiency
Created by Parliament in 1919 – by merging the Royal North West Mounted Police and the Dominion Police – the RCMP has a mandate to enforce laws, prevent crime, and maintain peace, order and security. Through agreements between the federal government and other bodies, the RCMP provides national, provincial/territorial, Aboriginal and municipal police services across Canada.

Since 1996, the RCMP has followed a regional system of management, and is now divided into four regions. Each region is headed by one of the RCMP’s Deputy Commissioners.

Additionally, the organization is sub-divided into 14 divisions plus its National Headquarters in Ottawa, each of which is under the direction of a Commanding Officer. At the local level, there are more than 750 detachments.

For management purposes, the RCMP is structured along five business areas: Federal Services; Criminal Intelligence; Contract Policing; National Police Services and Corporate Infrastructure. Overarching these business lines are strategic priorities that are reviewed periodically to focus both operational and organizational efforts on the goal of providing safe homes and communities for Canadians. In 2006, these strategic priorities were set as: organized crime; terrorism; youth; economic integrity (the newest priority); and serving Aboriginal communities. Additionally, wherever possible, these priorities are supported through partnerships and integrated policing efforts.

The RCMP’s scope of operations includes: combating terrorism, organized crime, and specific crimes related to the illicit drug trade; economic crimes such as counterfeiting and credit card fraud; and offences that threaten the integrity of Canada’s national borders. The RCMP protects VIPs, including the Prime Minister and foreign dignitaries and provides the law enforcement community with a full range of computer-based security services.

National Police Services, managed by the RCMP on behalf of all Canadian law enforcement organizations, offers valuable resources to members of Canada's 500-plus law enforcement and criminal justice agencies. These resources include national repositories as well as specialized services such as forensic sciences analyses, criminal intelligence, police learning and departmental security.

The NPS operates national databases include fingerprints, criminal records, Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC), Canadian Integrated Ballistics Identification Network (CIBIC) and the Automated Criminal Intelligence Information System.

The RCMP’s Contract Policing Services gives it jurisdiction over eight provinces, three territories, more than 190 municipalities, 184 Aboriginal communities and three international airports.