Canadian National Police Service
The Canadian National Police Service is a private railway police force protecting the property, personnel, and rail infrastructure of the Canadian National Railway in Canada and the United States.
History
Prior to the First World War, the Government of Canada owned four independent railways: the Intercolonial Railway, which had been established to link the Grand Trunk Railway's line in Montreal with the Port of Halifax; the Prince Edward Island Railway, which fell into Government ownership after going bankrupt in the late 19th century; the Hudson Bay Railway, which had been established to finish a portion of the Canadian Northern Railway; and the National Transcontinental Railway, which had been established to construct the Grand Trunk line from Winnipeg to Moncton. These four railways were organized under Canadian Government Railways, which operated each constituent railway separately. After the war, the Government Railways became increasingly centralized, absorbing the Canadian Northern and Grand Trunk Pacific railways before being renamed Canadian National and finally absorbing the Grand Trunk Railway in January 1923. The Canadian National Police Service was first established on April 1 of that year, as the Department of Investigation.As the responsibilities of the Canadian National Railway expanded, so too did the responsibilities of its police service. Up until the late 20th-century, the force was responsible for the Crown corporation's airline, ferries, hotels, and the CN Tower, which was only severed from the railway in the 1990s.
After the railway was privatized in 1992, the police service expanded through acquisitions and amalgamations with other railway police forces: the Illinois Central and Illinois Central Gulf police forces in 1998, the Wisconsin Central Railroad police in 2001, the Bessemer and Lake Erie and Affiliated Railroads Police in 2004, and the BC Rail police in 2005.
Organization
Authority
Canada
In Canada, members are federally sworn in under section 44.1 of the Railway Safety Act granting powers as police constables and have the same powers of arrest as any police officer in Canada anywhere in Canada as 'Peace Officers' under Section 2 of the Criminal Code. Police constables are employed by Canadian National and are also considered public servants, sworn to the Crown to uphold the law and protect.The CN Police federal oath of office primarily directs their duties 'on and along' CN infrastructure, protecting properties owned and administered by CN. CN Police have additional provincial appointments which allow them to extend provincial enforcement such as the Highway Traffic Act outside the boundaries set under the Railway Safety Act of Canada.
Under section 26.1 of the Railway Safety Act, it is an offence for any person to "enter on land on which a line work is situated". Offenders can be dealt with in multiple ways such as being compelled to Federal Court by means of a promise to appear, or being issued a ticket through the relevant provincial Contravention Act and released. Maximum penalties for contravention of the act for any offence can be up to a $10,000 fine and imprisonment in the case of a private person. A company may also face up to a $200,000 fine for contravention of this act.