Manitoba Royal Canadian Mounted Police

The D Division is the division of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police responsible for federal policing in Manitoba and, at times, northwestern Ontario.[3] Headquartered in Winnipeg, the division is commanded by Assistant Commissioner Scott McMurchy[4] and consists of 1089 police officers and 438 support staff.[1]

RCMP "D" Division
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdictionManitoba
Operational structure
Headquarters1091 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba
Police Constables1000[1]
Civilians450[1]
Agency executive
  • Scott McMurchy, Assistant Commissioner
Website
rcmp-grc.gc.ca/mb
[2]

As one of the 15 divisions of the RCMP, the D Division's federal policing duties include combating organized crime,[5] border integrity,[6] and VIP protection, among others.

D Division is also contracted by the Province of Manitoba to act as the provincial police.[7][8] In that role, the division provides front-line policing to towns and rural areas which have not established their own police services.[9] In addition, some municipalities which are responsible under Manitoba law for their own policing have chosen to contract the RCMP to provide that service.[10][11] As a result, the division provides front-line policing services to over 500,000 people spread over nearly all of Manitoba's 650,000 square kilometres, including some of Canada's most remote areas.

History

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The D Division was created around 1874 by the North-West Mounted Police (NWMP)—predecessor of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP)—when its 275 officers and men were divided into six troops (i.e., divisions), identified by letters 'A' through 'F'.[12]

Initially located in Fort Dufferin, Manitoba, D Division was stationed at the following locations between 1876 and 1919: Fort Macleod, Alberta (1876-1877), Shoal Lake (1878-1879), Battleford, Saskatchewan (1880-1886), Fort Macleod (1886), Fort Steele, British Columbia (1887-1889), and Fort Macleod (1889-1919). In 1919, D Division was assigned to Winnipeg, Manitoba, where it remains today.[12]

In 1932, the RCMP moved into a building on Winnipeg's Portage Avenue that was constructed in 1927 as a home for the Salvation Army's William Booth Territorial Training College. The building was eventually replaced by the structure that stands today as the D Division headquarters. This new facility was opened between 31 May and 1 June 1979, and cost around $12 million.[13]

Detachments

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The RCMP in Manitoba provides policing services via 80 detachments, about 1000 regular members, and about 450 civilian and public service employees.[14]

The division's federal units are almost all based out of the division's headquarters building in Winnipeg, but with an Integrated Border Enforcement Team based out of Altona.[citation needed]

Provincial policing

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The Province of Manitoba contracts the RCMP D Division to act as the provincial police.[7][8] In that role, the division provides front-line policing to towns and rural areas which have not established their own police services.[9] In addition, some municipalities that are responsible under Manitoba law for their own policing have chosen to contract the RCMP to provide that service.[10][11] As a result, the division provides front-line policing services to over 500,000 people spread over nearly all of Manitoba's 650,000 km2 (250,000 sq mi), including some of Canada's most remote areas.

The province is divided into three geographical districts; north, west, and east, and each is commanded by a Superintendent.[15][16] The districts are then divided into a total of 80 detachments. Some detachments are amalgamated, pooling resources together to serve a wider area more efficiently. The offices of an amalgamated detachments are referred to as a host and satellite offices.

The division's provincial policing resources are mainly spread around the province, with some specialty and support units based out of the headquarters building. Few detachments within the division have the resources to have police officers on-duty 24 hours a day, but instead rely on on-call officers to respond during quieter hours. Telephone calls to the RCMP within Manitoba are often routed to the Operational Communication Centre, located within the headquarters building.[17] The OCC is staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year with telecommunications operators, specialized civilians who are trained to take calls from the public and dispatch police officers.

In addition to detachments, the RCMP maintains community offices in smaller communities which provides office space for RCMP members to use on a temporary basis, and patrol cabins which provide overnight accommodations to RCMP members travelling to remote communities where there is no permanent policing presence.

The following communities have a detachment or satellite office of a larger detachment area.[18] (Winnipeg is home to the Manitoba Headquarters on Portage Avenue, as well as the Winnipeg Airport detachment.)[19]

Areas without all-weather road access, instead accessible only by ice road, air, boat,[20] or rail are denoted by a *, while district headquarters are in bold.

North District

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West District

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East District

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Former detachments

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Support Units

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The division houses units composed of police officers trained in specialized policing skills to provide support to the rest of the division or other police services within Manitoba under the division's duties as the provincial police. Some of these units include:

  • Emergency Response Team — providing advanced training and equipment to deal with situations such as armed and barricaded persons or high-risk search warrants[50][51]
  • Explosives Disposal Unit — providing disposal of found explosives and improvised explosive devices, along with chemical, biological, or radiological dissemination devices, and post-blast investigations[52][53]
  • Forensic Identification Services — collecting forensic evidence at crime scenes[54]
  • Search and Rescue — locating lost people in remote areas; Search and Rescue Manitoba (SARMAN) is a shared responsibility between D Division, Manitoba's Office of the Fire Commissioner, and the Emergency Measures Organization.[55][56]
  • Technological Crime — collecting evidence from technological devices
  • Tactical Troop — providing crowd control
  • Underwater Recovery Teampolice diving unit for locating bodies or evidence underwater[57]

Transportation

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Policing such a large and often remote area requires presents transportation challenges. While the division employs the use of traditional police cars, the division also has many pick-ups, some equipped to run on train tracks, boats, snowmobiles, quads, and three Pilatus PC-12 aircraft,[58][59] two stationed in Winnipeg and one in Thompson.

References

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  1. ^ a b c About D Division
  2. ^ Manitoba’s new RCMP commanding officer a big believer in community engagement
  3. ^ Headquarters
  4. ^ "Commanding Officer". 2020-12-23.
  5. ^ RCMP and Winnipeg police suspend organized-crime and warrant task forces
  6. ^ "$30K pledged for Manitoba town facing influx of asylum seekers". CBC News. 2017-03-05. Archived from the original on 2023-01-07.
  7. ^ a b "Profile of Police Services in Manitoba" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-11-22. Retrieved 2018-02-25.
  8. ^ a b The Police Services Act
  9. ^ a b "Manitoba First Nations angry about RCMP contract". CBC News. 2012-04-04. Archived from the original on 2021-05-12.
  10. ^ a b "Stonewall RCMP". Archived from the original on 2016-10-14. Retrieved 2018-02-25.
  11. ^ a b Selkirk RCMP
  12. ^ a b "Royal Canadian Mounted Police : D Division lett... - Héritage". heritage.canadiana.ca. Retrieved 2021-07-20.
  13. ^ "1091 Portage Avenue". Winnipeg Architecture Foundation. Retrieved 2021-07-20.
  14. ^ "About the RCMP in Manitoba". www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca. 2021-05-25. Archived from the original on 2009-04-21. Retrieved 2021-07-20.
  15. ^ "Manitoba RCMP Districts". www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca. 2021-04-28. Archived from the original on 2021-04-28. Retrieved 2021-07-20.
  16. ^ "Crime statistics". www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca. 2021-04-28. Archived from the original on 2021-04-28. Retrieved 2021-07-20.
  17. ^ "'I pray to God that nothing happens to anyone': All RCMP communications centres understaffed". CBC News. 2018-01-11. Archived from the original on 2023-05-30.
  18. ^ Find a detachment
  19. ^ Government of Canada, Royal Canadian Mounted Police (2015-07-14). "Manitoba divisional headquarters". www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca. Retrieved 2021-07-20.
  20. ^ a b A Look Back at Policing in Selkirk
  21. ^ "New top cop, same priorities for Flin Flon RCMP""theReminder", 2015-11-28
  22. ^ "Cold and lonely in the deep dark north""Winnipeg Sun", 2012-02-10
  23. ^ "Community liaisons and positive role models: Leaf Rapids RCMP help kids have fun""Thompson Citizen", 2016-02-12
  24. ^ "Moose Lake's new RCMP building""Thompson Citizen", 2012-09-28
  25. ^ "RCMP keeps Norway House nearly crime-free for weekend""Winnipeg Sun", 2013-02-04
  26. ^ "RCMP officer honoured for community service""CBC News", 2010-06-15
  27. ^ "My Take on Snow Lake""Thompson Citizen", 2015-10-30
  28. ^ "Father hands command of Manitoba RCMP detachment to son""Global News", 2015-01-13
  29. ^ "Newly promoted RCMP Inspector Kevin Lewis reviews Thompson crime prevention priorities""Thompson Citizen", 2016-08-03
  30. ^ "Wabowden's long-serving jail guard is 81-year-old grandma""CBC News", 2014-10-07
  31. ^ Government of Canada, Royal Canadian Mounted Police (2015-07-14). "Brandon detachment - Manitoba". www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca. Retrieved 2021-07-20.
  32. ^ "Former nurse takes command of Carman Area RCMP""pembinatoday.ca", 2009-11-24
  33. ^ a b Royal Canadian Mounted Police (2015-07-14). "Altona detachment - Manitoba". www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 2015-10-19. Retrieved 2021-07-20.
  34. ^ "Killarney Detachment Area Has New Boss"[permanent dead link]"DiscoverWestman.com", 2016-08-12
  35. ^ "New RCMP inspector coming""PortageDailyGraphic.com", 2015-01-27
  36. ^ "New RCMP officer in Reston""The Reston Recorder", 2016-10-13
  37. ^ "RCMP staffing levels raise concerns in rural Manitoba""CTV News Winnipeg", 2015-11-12
  38. ^ "New RCMP commander in town""Empire-Advance", 2018-01-25
  39. ^ "Falk Pressing For More RCMP At Emerson To Deal With Crossings By Asylum-Seekers""SteinbachOnline.com", 2017-02-23
  40. ^ "Morris/Emerson RCMP Detachment Fully Staffed"[permanent dead link]"Pembina Valley Online", 2016-02-16
  41. ^ "St Pierre RCMP short staffed""The Carillon", 2014-05-21
  42. ^ "Steinbach to add new police officer""The Carillon", 2014-04-16
  43. ^ Government of Canada, Royal Canadian Mounted Police (2015-07-14). "Crystal City detachment - Manitoba". www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca. Retrieved 2021-07-20.
  44. ^ Government of Canada, Royal Canadian Mounted Police (2015-07-14). "Ethelbert detachment - Manitoba". www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca. Retrieved 2021-07-20.
  45. ^ Government of Canada, Royal Canadian Mounted Police (2015-07-14). "Gladstone detachment - Manitoba". www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca. Retrieved 2021-07-20.
  46. ^ Government of Canada, Royal Canadian Mounted Police (2015-07-14). "Grandview detachment - Manitoba". www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca. Retrieved 2021-07-20.
  47. ^ Government of Canada, Royal Canadian Mounted Police (2015-07-14). "McCreary detachment - Manitoba". www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca. Retrieved 2021-07-20.
  48. ^ "Fire destroys northern reserve's new RCMP detachment""CBC News", 2007-08-14
  49. ^ Government of Canada, Royal Canadian Mounted Police (2021-04-12). "Opaskwayak Cree Nation Transition from RCMP to Manitoba First Nations Police Service | Royal Canadian Mounted Police". www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca. Retrieved 2021-07-20.
  50. ^ RCMP Make Multiple Drug Seizures in Northern Manitoba
  51. ^ Two People in Custody After Armed Standoff
  52. ^ School Bomb Threat a Hoax[permanent dead link]
  53. ^ "Guido Amsel bombing trial hears of crater, 70-metre debris field". CBC News. 2017-10-31. Archived from the original on 2022-06-27.
  54. ^ "Relatives devastated over man's death being investigated as homicide in Neepawa". CTV News. 2017-11-25. Archived from the original on 2018-02-17.
  55. ^ Search and Rescue
  56. ^ SARMAN History
  57. ^ "No occupants in vehicle found in Red River in RM of St. Andrews". CBC News. 2017-11-13. Archived from the original on 2018-08-17.
  58. ^ C-GMPP
  59. ^ C-FMPK