Manitoba Government News Release: Information Services, Room 29, Legislative Building, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3C 0V8 Telephone: (204) 945-3746 Fax: (204) 945-3988

June 28, 2006

 

NEW AGREEMENT TO BOOST LAW ENFORCEMENT IN MUNICIPALITIES, ENHANCE PUBLIC SAFETY: MACKINTOSH

A made-in-Manitoba approach to municipal bylaw enforcement will enhance public safety by delivering a new level of law enforcement in Manitoba communities, Attorney General Gord Mackintosh said today.

A new legal framework has been established to allow municipal bylaw enforcement officers to perform some provincial statute enforcement through special constable appointments.

"Municipalities identified a need to supplement their primary police services," said Mackintosh. "They wanted to be able to focus cost-effective resources on community-specific problems to supplement policing efforts. These agreements keep policing a public function while providing a safe and legal way for municipalities to accomplish the goal."

Extensive consultations with municipalities and police agencies have led to the development of a provincial memorandum of understanding (MOU) that municipalities can enter into.

The agreements will allow municipalities to have individuals they hire as bylaw enforcement officers under the Municipal Act seek special constable appointments from the province to perform limited provincial statute enforcement.

The appointments provide the legal foundation to allow bylaw officers to enforce certain provincial statutes while ensuring the appropriate amount of training and responsibility accompanies the power special constables have to help enforce provincial statutes.

The MOUs will define what specific provincial legislation can be enforced. The appointees will be able to enforce particular sections of some provincial legislation, including parts of the Highway Traffic Act, the Liquor Control Act, the Off-Road Vehicles Act and other statues defined in the MOUs.

The special constables are not police officers and will be required to work under the direct supervision of the municipality. They will also have a working relationship with the police force of jurisdiction in their municipality which, in the majority of cases, will be the RCMP.

Specialized training is mandatory and costs associated with training will be the responsibility of either the individual or the nominating municipality. Any enhanced law enforcement by municipalities must be based on the legal requirements of provincial legislation. This would include an RCMP enhanced reliability clearance for all potential special constables including background investigations such as criminal records checks, child-abuse registry checks, sex-offender registry checks, credit bureau checks, neighbourhood enquiries and character references.

"These MOUs give municipalities an opportunity to increase enforcement of provincial laws while freeing up their police to concentrate on more serious criminal matters. The MOUs can benefit citizens, the municipalities and the officers who work hard to keep our streets and neighbourhoods safe," said Mackintosh.

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BACKGROUND INFORMATION

 

Frequently Asked Questions

What’s the difference between a bylaw officer, a special constable and a police officer?

The real difference is in what each is legally allowed to do.

Is this a form of private policing?

It’s not private policing. These bylaw enforcement officers with special constable appointments are individuals who are paid, supervised and monitored by the municipality. The municipalities are responsible for what these people do when they are carrying out their duties.

What will this allow communities to do that they couldn’t do before?

Up to this point, municipal bylaw officers were only allowed to enforce municipal bylaws and nothing in provincial legislation. Through these MOUs, municipalities whose bylaw officers get provincial special constable appointments (SCA) can use them to enforce specific provincial laws. It means they can focus cost effective resources on community-specific problems.

How will this work?

First, an MOU is signed by the province and an interested community. The municipality then has to identify a person they directly employ as a bylaw enforcement officer. That person has to apply to the province to also become a special constable. Each candidate will be vetted and cleared through the RCMP at either their own expense or at the expense of the municipality. If they pass, they then need to be trained. The training course has to be one the province approves of but, again, the cost of the training will be either the responsibility of the candidates or the community. Before a special constable designation is given, the province and the municipality have to agree as to what specific pieces of legislation he or she will be allowed to enforce, and that will be specified in the appointment. The province will also require the municipalities to provide proof of liability insurance. When all that is done, the person becomes a bylaw enforcement officer with a SCA with employees will have the power to enforce certain provincial laws.

Special Constables

The special constable appointment process is used to give a level of authority to certain individuals to allow them to enforce specific laws in Manitoba. Law enforcement jurisdictions are defined in several ways, including the law or laws an official is authorized to enforce, the powers available to that individual in enforcing those laws, the circumstances in which these powers may be used and the geographical area in which his/her authority is effective.

Manitoba currently has approximately 1,137 provincially-authorized individuals with SCA in various enforcement capacities such as First Nation band constables, gaming and lottery inspectors and Manitoba Public Insurance investigators.

Under Section 130 of the Municipal Act, a municipality may appoint an individual as a designated officer, to carry out the powers, duties and functions of a designated officer under a bylaw. Through this mechanism, municipalities appoint bylaw officers.

Under these agreements, municipal bylaw officers can also seek a special constable appointment from the province. Special constables appointed by the province will need to have special training and will be screened by the RCMP.

Subject to certain conditions and restrictions set out in the agreements, the SCA process will allow designated bylaw enforcement officers to perform limited enforcement of specified sections of provincial statutes:

 

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