Although the RCMP is often identified as a national symbol, Canadian police history is largely the story of municipal and provincial police forces who have had little influence on popular culture but considerable impact on the lives of Canadians. Municipal police forces predate the Mounties by a generation and first began to articulate their concerns through the Chief Constables' Association of Canada (CCAC) in 1905.

The development of this little-studied, non-governmental organization, known since the 1950s as the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police (CACP), has been a crucial part of our criminal-justice history.

The CACP/CCAC story mirrors the social and intellectual history of policing in twentieth-century Canada. Beginning with an overview of nineteenth-century policing and the conditions that led to the establishment of this first police lobby, Policing Canada's Century is a chronicle of police reaction to social change and the rise of new institutions, reform movements, and methods of managing the population.

The biggest period of growth was from 1961 to 1975, coinciding with the maturation of the welfare state, when the number of police officers in relation to population increased by more than 50 per cent. The social change and legal reforms of the 1960s and 1970s caused CACP to reorganize and to found a permanent secretariat in Ottawa.

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Four major themes emerge, all of which remain at the heart of public debates over policing. The first is technological change, particularly in the areas of information storage, retrieval, and exchange. Second is the relationship between politics and law enforcement. Government insensitivity to police needs has been a rallying cry since 1905 at police chiefs' meetings. Also discussed is the subject of police accountability, which has had increased public attention in the past two decades.

The third theme of 'practical criminology' is an occupational response to the reforms of the law and covers the Juvenile Delinquent Act, the creation of the provincial court system, probation, parole, and legal aid. The final concern is the search for professionalism and status, with attempts to improve recruitment, training, discipline, salaries, working conditions, and public relations.

1. This book is both a history of Canada's major police professional association and an examination of twentieth-century police administration issues.