British Columbia Sheriff Service

History

British Columbia Sheriff Service (BCSS) traces its roots to the first Sheriff appointed by Governor James Douglas in 1857 for the Colony of Vancouver Island in what is now British Columbia, Canada. Governor Douglas appointed Andrew MUIR who derived his authority from English Common law and who holds the distinction of being the first sworn Peace Officer in what is now the Province of British Columbia. The modern BCSS was formed after a consolidation of County Sheriffs by the New Democratic Party of British Columbia government in 1974, and placed under the Ministry of the Attorney General.

Scope of Authority

BCSS members are Peace Officers who receive their authority from the Criminal Code of Canada and the BC Sheriff Act and as such have legislated authority to enforce provincial and federal statutes that refer to the empowerment of Peace Officers, they have authority throughout the Province of British Columbia.

Training

Recruiting of new Sheriffs is handled by the Service's Recruiting and Training Section, applicants must meet provincial standards, several interview processes, background investigations, criminal records checks, physical fitness testing and medical's. Recruit training is conducted at the Sheriff Academy of the Justice Institute of British Columbia. BCSS members are trained to provincial standards in the use of force options tools, including pistols, expandable batons, pepper spray and tasers. BCSS members are also qualified to provincial standards in Emergency vehicle operation, crowd management, Incident command system, first aid and they can be deployed during civil emergencies under the Provincial Emergency Program (PEP) to assist other Law Enforcement agencies with public safety.

Special Deployments

Uniformed and plain clothes BCSS members were deployed during the 2010 Winter Olympics and worked alongside other Law Enforcement agencies as part of the Integrated Security Unit. There duties included site assessment and preparation, threat assessments, operational planning, VIP protection detail and general patrol of secure venues, sites and athlete villages.

Duties

BCSS responsibilities include the protection of the Provincial, Supreme and Appeal Courts of BC, planning high security trials, utilizing High Security Teams, Intelligence Unit, assessing threats towards those employed in the Justice system, protection of Judges and Crown Prosecutors, managing detention cells, transportation of prisoners by ground and air, manage and provide protection for Juries, serve court-related documents, execute court orders, execute civil and criminal warrants, and assist with coroner's court. Specialized Units have duties including assess threats towards government and public officials, providing plain clothes protection detail and executing outstanding warrants on persons wanted in other Provincial jurisdictions (Con Air Program).^[2]

Rank Structure

• Chief Sheriff
• Deputy Chief
• Superintendent
• Inspector
• Staff Sergeant
• Sergeant
• Deputy Sheriff

'Sheriff Ceremonial Unit

Ceremonial Appointments only wear their insignia while performing duties related to ceremonial occasions and only exercise their authority in relation to ceremonial occasions.

• Sergeant Major (Ceremonail Appointment)
• Colour Sergeant (Ceremonail Appointment)
• Troop Sergeant (Ceremonail Appointment)

References