First Nations Organized Crime Initiative

Through the First Nations Organized Crime Initiative (FNOCI), Public Safety Canada assists First Nations police services in addressing organized crime and cross-border criminality. The initiative provides funding to the Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service (AMPS) and the Kahnawake Peacekeepers with the aim to:

• Increase their capacity in intelligence gathering and information sharing through training and enhanced partnerships between them, the RCMP, and other Canadian and American law enforcement agencies
• Increase their knowledge of skills and techniques used in complex organized crime investigations
• Disrupt organized crime and related criminal activities in and around their communities and surrounding areas

The FNOCI operates under and is aligned with the overall objectives of the Contribution Program to Combat Serious and Organized Crime. It also complements the First Nations Policing Program (FNPP) by providing funding for additional police members dedicated to organized crime-related cases and supports their participation in joint investigative forces.

Akwesasne Organized Crime Initiative

The Akwesasne Organized Crime Initiative (AOCI) contribution agreement was signed in 2001 and has since been regularly renewed. This agreement allows the AMPS to have a dedicated team operating in the community supported by officers from the following agencies: the RCMP (Valleyfield and Cornwall detachments), the Canada Border Services Agency in Cornwall, the Ontario Provincial Police and the Sûreté du Québec. The team also works closely with the Cornwall Regional Task Force, the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribal Police, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the New York State Police.

Public Safety Canada’s 2018-2019 evaluation of the AOCI highlighted the positive results achieved by the team and recommended that these efforts continue. The agreement has been renewed to provide the AMPS with an additional $8.4M over a 4-year period (from FY 2019-20 to FY 2022-23).

Kahnawake Organized Crime Initiative

Building on the successful implementation of the AOCI, Public Safety Canada entered into a similar agreement with Kahnawake Peacekeepers. This separate agreement, signed in March 2017, provides $2.5M over 4 years (from FY 2017-18 to FY 2020-21) and supports the development of specialized investigative and policing skills to address organized crime issues in and around the Kahnawake community, in collaboration with the RCMP-led Aboriginal Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit (A-CFSEU).

Date modified:

2019-08-16