Innovation in the RCMP: a journey through time
People and culture
The North West Mounted Police is established in 1873. Insets: creation of the radio; creation of the National DNA Databank; women are accepted to the RCMP.
Image by RCMP
September 5, 2024
Content
2024 marks 151 years of policing for the RCMP, which is rooted in a rich history of service. Take a journey through time with the Gazette as we look back at a timeline of the RCMP's milestones, beginning with its establishment in the late 1800s when officers still patrolled on horseback.
1873 - Mounted constabulary first formed
The North West Mounted Police (NWMP) is organized as a federally controlled mounted constabulary with certain military characteristics, like the French gendarmerie. NWMP members are given the police powers of arrest.
1886 - Patrol system established
Commissioner L.W. Herchmer reorganizes the NWMP to distribute its members as widely as possible. They are assigned to detachments within each division to make regular patrols and provide weekly intelligence reports. The patrol system gives the NWMP an accurate and timely awareness of conditions across their vast policing territory.
1916 - Patrols change from using horses to automobiles
The first automobile, a seven-passenger McLaughlin car, is purchased by the Royal North West Mounted Police (RNWMP). By 1940, two years after the last horse patrol, the RCMP has more than 540 motor vehicles. Today, it has the largest law enforcement vehicle fleet in North America.
1919 - Federal policing begins
Following the First World War, the RNWMP is given jurisdiction to enforce federal statutes from Lake Superior to the Pacific Coast. It creates the Criminal Intelligence Branch, and opens new detachments in Northwestern Ontario and British Columbia.
1920 - RNWMP renamed to RCMP
On February 1, 1920, the Dominion Police, which enforced federal statutes in Eastern and Central Canada, is amalgamated into the RNWMP. The new organization is renamed the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and its headquarters is moved from Regina, Saskatchewan, to Ottawa.
1928 - Contract policing started
Beginning with its first contract with Saskatchewan in 1928, the RCMP takes on provincial policing in Alberta, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island in 1932. In 1950, British Columbia and Newfoundland and Labrador sign contracts with the RCMP.
1932 - Recruit training modernized
The RCMP replaces its old recruit-training program with a six-month course reflecting the growing complexity of police work. The new curriculum includes first aid, judo, foot-and-mounted drills, firearms instruction, the Criminal Code, criminal investigation, public relations, fingerprinting, typing, and motor vehicle maintenance.
1937 - First forensic lab opened
The RCMP opens its first Crime Detection Laboratory in Regina to assist in investigations by using chemistry, ballistics, and other sciences. Within three months of opening, the lab has conducts 53 blood-typing tests, looks at 24 hair and fibre cases, and handles 18 sexual assault cases.
1938 - Radio telecommunications introduced
In October 1938, the radio station CKCK in Regina and the RCMP reaches an agreement to broadcast police bulletins marking the start of a new means of communication. The twice-daily bulletins report stolen cars, missing persons, escaped prisoners, and other information. The first RCMP radio transmitter goes into service in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in 1940.
1950 - French name changed to Gendarmerie royale du Canada
An amendment to the RCMP Act officially changes the organization's name in French to Gendarmerie royale du Canada
1960 - First civilian members employed
On April 1, 1960, the RCMP Act creates the civilian member category of employees for work in the crime-detection laboratories and various technical fields. Today, the RCMP employs approximately 3,000 civilian members as well as more than 8,000 public service employees.
1972 - Canadian Police Information Centre first launched
On July 1, 1972, Commissioner W.L. Higgitt sends out a message to all Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) terminals effectively launching the national policing computer system into operations. At present, there are 49,861 CPIC Originating Agency Identifiers across Canada capable of adding, modifying, removing, and searching information on the CPIC data bank.
1973 - Native Special Constable Program started
In consultation with First Nations associations, a special branch of the RCMP is charged with policing First Nations reserves in provinces policed by the RCMP. Then known as the Native Special Constable Program, special constables help with policing, crime prevention and community relations. By 1990, the special constables are converted to regular members.
1974 - First women police officers hired
On May 23, 1974, Commissioner M.J. Nadon announces that the RCMP will begin accepting applications from women for regular police duties. Recruited from across the country, the first troop of 32 women police officers — Troop 17 — graduates on March 3, 1975.
1994 - Cadet training programs updated
On April 1, 1994, the Recruit Training Program at Depot in Regina, Saskatchewan, is replaced with the Cadet Training Program, an extensive 26-week basic training course offered in both official languages. On the same day, the Indigenous Pre-Cadet Training Program is also instituted at Depot.
2000 - National DNA Data Bank created
The RCMP-run National DNA Data Bank (NDDB) comes into being on June 30, 2000, when the DNA Identification Act becomes law. By 2020, the NDDB is hosting more than 400,000 DNA profiles in the Convicted Offender Index and 175,000 profiles in the Crime Scene Index.
