Dominion Police

In 1868 the Dominion Police began as a police force protecting the Parliament Buildings on Parliament Hill in Ottawa (now protected by House of Commons and Senate Security Service Constables and Scanner operators) and by 1911 it served as Canada's eastern police force (for provinces east of Manitoba, excluding Newfoundland which did not join Canada until 1949).

In May 1918, the 969 member Dominion Police was assigned under the Department of Militia and Defence and became a civilian wing of the Canadian Military Police Corps.^[1]

The civilian members of the CMPC were merged with the Royal North West Mounted Police (Canada's western police force) on February 1, 1920 to form the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Roles of the DP included:

• bodyguards for politicians in Ottawa
• secret service
• security intelligence
• protecting naval dockyards in Halifax
• national fingerprint bureau
• parole service
• other law enforcement duties

Heads of the Dominion Police

• Gilbert McMicken 1869-1873, Commissioner
• Sir Arthur Percy Sherwood 1885-1918, Commissioner ^[2]
• Colonel Gilbert Godson-Godson, Provost Marshall (CMPC)

References

1. ^ http://mpmuseum.org/history.html
2. ^ The Formation of the RCMP, The Royal Canadian Mounted Police 1873-1987 By David Ross, Robin May, Richard Hook, p17

External links

• Dominion Police
• Dominion Police, 1868-1919