Does the RCMP still use horses for any active policing duty, and beyond anything other than ceremonial purposes? A visit to their website, and a peek at wikipedia, imply they only have a ceremonial unit, the “Musical Ride”. Also they offer to train mounted units from other forces.
If they don’t still have an active unit - when did they stop?
Mounted units aren’t necessarily obsolete - until recently I believe the Massachusetts State Police had a mounted unit that was very practical for things liike crowd control and off-road searches.
(PS I’m aware Canada has police forces other than the RCMP.)
I don’t beleive so. According to the RCMP website they haven’t used horses in duty since before World War II.
There are mounted cops in Canada, but mostly in big cities, and of course big cities have their own police forces so the RCMP would have no role in such things.
I thought they were, I’ve seen some at times, but thinking on when I’ve seen them it was ceremonial. According to their website equitation was discontinued in 1966 for new members. So unless they sign up for the musical ride, they don’t get that training.
However, there is a mounted unit in Calgary (not RCMP, city police). They travel the paths in the parks and certain streets. As I understand it, they are excellent for riot situations.
The Vancouver Police Department also has mounted police - they are quite impressive for crowd control. We’re getting some more, in preparation for the Olympics next year.
As for the RCMP, it’s rare to see them doing regular police work on horseback, despite what you may have gathered from Due South.
I’m not so sure that’s true - they largely serve as the police force for the vast majority of canada which isn’t under the control of a large-enough jurisdiction, right?
That was my understanding as well. Criminal law (e.g. murder, kidnapping, assault, etc.) in Canada is a national thing and the Mounties enforce it outside of the larger cities and towns. So they are also the equivalent of the various State Patrols in the US.
How about dog sleds? Is Sgt Preston still mooshing around the Yukon these days? Or has King been retired in favor of snowmobiles?
Not quite, the RCMP provides provincial and municipal policing on a contract basis. The provinces and territories are free to setup their own police forces to handle crimes if they want. Only Ontario and Quebec have their own police forces at the moment.
In areas where they aren’t contracted to provide policing, they still police the ‘national mandate’ (white collar crime, national security issues, etc)
I’m pretty sure all big cities have mounted units. You can go into the horse barn in Toronto and pet the police horses.
A man on horseback who’s pissed off at you is still terrifying to a person on foot. It’s very intimidating, and any city worth its salt will have mounted police for crown control.
I still remember the 9th inning of the last game of the 1980 World Series. Normally, you’d expect Philadelphia fans to swarm the field the moment the Phillies won the World Series, but there were dozens of mounted cops on the field, just DARING someone to leave the stands.
Montreal has a municipal police force with some mounted police, but I have never seen them except on Mt. Royal where, I believe, they are largely ceremonial.
The Mounted NYPD has a primarily street patrol and crowd-control function. They are not an “auxilliary” or volunteer unit - they are a fulltime professional division of the NYPD and are considered an elite unit actually.
However, The Mounted Park Rangers (AKA NYC Parks Enforcement Patrol Mounted Auxiliary Unit), are an auxiliary patrol force made up of volunteers. They have no law enforcement authority.
