# Canadian National Police Service > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Canadian_National_Police_Service > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Canadian_National_Police_Service.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_National_Police_Service > Source revision: 1348257535 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) For the Canadian federal law enforcement agency, see [Royal Canadian Mounted Police](/source/Royal_Canadian_Mounted_Police). The **Canadian National Police Service** (commonly referred to as the **CN Police** or the **CN Rail Police**) is a [private](/source/Private_police) [railway police](/source/Law_enforcement_in_Canada#Railway_police) force protecting the property, personnel, and rail infrastructure of the [Canadian National Railway](/source/Canadian_National_Railway) in Canada and the United States. ## History Prior to the [First World War](/source/First_World_War), the [Government of Canada](/source/Government_of_Canada) owned four independent railways: the [Intercolonial Railway](/source/Intercolonial_Railway), which had been established to link the [Grand Trunk Railway](/source/Grand_Trunk_Railway)'s line in Montreal with the Port of Halifax; the [Prince Edward Island Railway](/source/Prince_Edward_Island_Railway), which fell into Government ownership after going bankrupt in the late 19th century; the [Hudson Bay Railway](/source/Hudson_Bay_Railway_(1910)), which had been established to finish a portion of the [Canadian Northern Railway](/source/Canadian_Northern_Railway); and the [National Transcontinental Railway](/source/National_Transcontinental_Railway), which had been established to construct the Grand Trunk line from [Winnipeg](/source/Winnipeg) to [Moncton](/source/Moncton).[2] These four railways were organized under [Canadian Government Railways](/source/Canadian_Government_Railways), which operated each constituent railway separately.[2] After the war, the Government Railways became increasingly centralized, absorbing the Canadian Northern and [Grand Trunk Pacific](/source/Grand_Trunk_Pacific) railways before being renamed Canadian National and finally absorbing the Grand Trunk Railway in January 1923.[3][4] The Canadian National Police Service was first established on April 1 of that year, as the Department of Investigation.[5] 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](/source/Crown_corporation)'s [airline](/source/Air_Canada), [ferries](/source/CN_Marine), hotels, and the [CN Tower](/source/CN_Tower), which was only severed from the railway in the 1990s.[3][6] After the [railway was privatized in 1992](/source/Canadian_National#Privatization), the police service expanded through acquisitions and amalgamations with other railway police forces: the [Illinois Central](/source/Illinois_Central) and [Illinois Central Gulf](/source/Illinois_Central_Gulf) police forces in 1998, the [Wisconsin Central Railroad](/source/Wisconsin_Central_Ltd.) police in 2001, the [Bessemer and Lake Erie](/source/Bessemer_and_Lake_Erie_Railroad) and Affiliated Railroads Police in 2004, and the [BC Rail](/source/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](/source/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](/source/Criminal_Code_(Canada)). 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. #### United States In the U.S., each state in which CN operates grants police powers to CN police officers and special agents. State specific powers are also augmented by interstate authority granted by the [United States Secretary of Transportation](/source/United_States_Secretary_of_Transportation) (Code 49 U.S.C. 28101), meaning officers have police powers related to the railway in all states the CN railway operates. Individual states may expand this authority within their borders.[7] ### Divisions The Police Service's corporate headquarters is located in [Montreal](/source/Montreal), [Quebec](/source/Quebec), while its regional headquarters (serving the United States) is located in [Homewood](/source/Homewood,_Illinois), [Illinois](/source/Illinois).[8] #### Canada Canada is divided into five operational divisions: the Pacific Division, based in [Surrey, British Columbia](/source/Surrey,_British_Columbia); the Mountain Division, based in [Edmonton](/source/Edmonton), [Alberta](/source/Alberta); the Prairie Division, based in [Winnipeg](/source/Winnipeg), [Manitoba](/source/Manitoba); the Great Lakes Division, based in [Vaughan](/source/Vaughan), [Ontario](/source/Ontario); and the Champlain Division, based in Montreal, Quebec.[8] #### United States In the United States, CN Police operations are divided into three divisions: the North Division, based in [Lake Orion](/source/Lake_Orion), [Michigan](/source/Michigan); the Central Division, based in [Harvey](/source/Harvey,_Illinois), [Illinois](/source/Illinois); and the South Division, based in [Memphis](/source/Memphis,_Tennessee), [Tennessee](/source/Tennessee).[8] ## Training In Canada, all CN police officers are trained at various accredited Police training academies such as [Ontario Police College](/source/Ontario_Police_College) in [Aylmer, Ontario](/source/Aylmer,_Ontario), RCMP Depot in Regina, Saskatchewan, or Winnipeg Police Service located in Winnipeg, Manitoba. ## Equipment - Ford Police Interceptor Utility ## See also Other private railroad police departments: - [Canadian Pacific Kansas City Police Service](/source/Canadian_Pacific_Kansas_City_Police_Service) - [Via Rail Police Service](/source/Via_Rail_Police_Service) - [Amtrak Police Department](/source/Amtrak_Police_Department) - [BNSF Police Department](/source/BNSF_Police_Department) - [Union Pacific Police Department](/source/Union_Pacific_Police_Department) ## References 1. ["Riding along with the CN Police"](https://www.richmond-news.com/local-news/riding-along-with-the-cn-police-3039947). *Richmond News*. October 4, 2016. 1. ["Canadian National Railway"](https://www.trha.ca/trha/history/railways/canadian-national-railway/). *Toronto Railway Historical Association* 1. ["Canadian National Railway"](https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/canadian-national-railways). *The Canadian Encyclopedia* 1. ["Grand Trunk Railway of Canada"](https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/grand-trunk-railway-of-canada). *The Canadian Encyclopedia* 1. ["CN Police celebrates 100 years!"](https://www.cn.ca/en/stories/20230502-cn-police-celebrates-100-years/). *CN* 1. ["Railway Police still serve a vital function"](https://militarybruce.com/railway-police-still-serve-a-vital-function/). *Canadian Military History* 1. ["CN Police Service"](https://web.archive.org/web/20131212105833/http://www.cn.ca/en/delivering-responsibly/safety/cn-police-service). *CN*. Canadian National Railway. Archived from [the original](https://www.cn.ca/en/delivering-responsibly/safety/cn-police-service) on December 12, 2013. Retrieved 25 March 2014. 1. Stephen Covey. ["Letter on COVID-19 Vaccination Policy"](https://www.cn.ca/-/media/Files/suppliers/CN-Policies/Covid19-CN-protocols-Update-20220401.pdf?la%3Den%26hash%3D0428C7AB11D2BDA1426A5A2E4A0CC4CD3676F8AE&usg=AOvVaw3szVmE_dkixP2LQHvTuEal&opi=89978449). *CN Police Service* ## External links - [CN Police Service](https://www.cn.ca/en/safety/cn-police-service) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Canadian National Police Service](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_National_Police_Service) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_National_Police_Service?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.