Summary
Canada is in the midst of a transformation in how policing services are delivered and understood. Today, policing is carried out by a complex mix of public police and private security. In many cases these networks are overlapping, complimentary, and mutually supportive. This report examines whether the current legal and regulatory framework adequately reflects the realities of the new era of pluralized policing, and whether policing, in all of its manifestations, continues to reflect core Canadian democratic values and aspirations. Based on these findings, a set of recommendations aimed at ensuring the future of democratic policing is proposed.
Contents
1. Introduction: an overview of police, policing and security. -- 1.1. The complex nature of contemporary policing. -- 1.2. Networks of policing. -- 1.3. Purpose of the report. -- 1.4. The Law Commission of Canada's premises. -- 1.5. Organization of the report. -- 2. Policing in contemporary Canada. -- 2.1. Introductions. -- 2.2. Sizing-up the public (state) police. -- 2.2.1. Changing demographics. -- 2.3. Non-state or private policing. -- 2.3.1 Private policing demographics. -- 2.3.2. Challenges counting private security and comparing to public police. -- 2.4. Hybrid policing institutions. -- 2.5. Conclusions. -- 3. Networks of policing. -- 3.1. Introduction. -- 3.2. Mass private property. -- 3.3. Communal spaces. -- 3.4. Evolving governance relationships. -- 3.4.1. Formal and informal cooperation. -- 3.4.2. Governance and marketization. -- 3.5. Conclusion: changing relationships between state and non-state policing. -- 4. The existing legal environment. -- 4.1. Introduction. -- 4.2. The constitutional context. -- 4.3. Powers of arrest. -- 4.3.1. Powers of arrest as an ordinary citizen. -- 4.3.2. Powers of arrest as agent for an owner or occupier and provincial trespass acts. -- 4.4. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. -- 4.4.1. The Charter's limited applicability to private security officers. -- 4.4.2. Issues arising from the Charter's limited applicability. -- 4.5. Tort law. -- 4.6. Conclusion: issues for law reform. -- 5. Direct regulation and accountability of policing. -- 5.1. Introduction. -- 5.2. Regulating public police. -- 5.2.1. Governance bodies. -- 5.2.2. Police independence. -- 5.2.3. Scope of governance authority. -- 5.3. External accountability of public police agencies. -- 5.4. Recent trends in police governance and accountability. -- 5.4.1. Police complaints commissions. -- 5.4.2. The Special Investigations Unit in Ontario. -- 5.4.3. Auditing of police services. -- 5.4.4. From individual punishment to organizational remedy. -- 5.5. Summary: public police governance and accountability. -- 5.6. Regulating private security. -- 5.7. Governance and regulation of private security. -- 5.7.1. Contract compliance. -- 5.7.2. Legislative reform. -- 5.8. Accountability. -- 5.9. Training. -- 5.9.1. Influence of the Canadian General Standards Board. -- 5.9.2. Provincial regulatory training requirements. -- 5.9.3. Security industry associations. -- 5.9.4. Industry basic training practices. -- 5.10. Role and identity issues (issues for law reform). -- 5.11. Conclusion. -- 6. Re-imagining policing in Canada. -- 6.1. Introduction. -- 6.2. Redefining policing. -- 6.3. Protecting democratic ideals. -- 6.3.1. State responsibility. -- 6.3.2. Citizen awareness. -- 6.4. The legal context of policing in Canada. -- 6.5. Policing governance and accountability. -- 6.5.1. Policing boards. -- 6.5.2. Policing board budgets. -- 6.5.3. Accountability. -- 6.5.4. From police independence to operational responsibility. -- 6.6. Private security and the public. -- 6.6.1. Oversight mechanisms. -- 6.7. Monitoring and reviewing change. -- 6.8. Conclusion. -- 7. Conclusion and list of recommendations. -- Appendix A: Private security and public police acts and regulations, by province. -- Appendix B: Oversight mechanisms for public policing in Canada. -- Appendix C: Examples of specialized training for private security.