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General Information

 


Members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police with sled dogs in 1957.

History of the KRPF

​In 1936 the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) first set foot in Port Harrison which today is called Inukjuak. A ship called “Eastern Arctic Patrol” patrolled the shores performing rescue missions. Shortly after 1936, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police occupied all the communities of Nunavik.
In 1961, la Surete du Quebec (S.Q) replaced the Royal Canadian Mounted Police followed by a decision made by the provincial government assuming full jurisdiction of its territory. The  SQ’s first police station was set in Kuujjuaraapik also known as Great Whale and six months later in Kuujjuaq (also known as Fort-Chimo). Prior to 1961, the SQ only came to Nunavik to provide reinforcement to the RCMP in major crime matters.
In 1975, the James Bay agreement was signed which provoked major changes in regards of policing in Nunavik. An agreement was made between the SQ and the first nations to implement an aboriginal police program. The Cree nation first initiated the program in 1978 followed by the Naskapis and Inuits in 1980.


SQ representatives with first aboriginal constables.

Inuits who successfully completed the aboriginal police program, became special constables of the SQ . Each special constable was supervised by a regular member.

The Kativik Regional Police Force (KRPF) was created in 1996 with the participation of the Solicitor General of Canada and the Ministère de la Sécurité publique (public security) in accordance with the spirit of the James Bay and Northern Québec Agreement and pursuant to sections 369 and 370 of the Act respecting Northern Villages and the Kativik Regional Government.


Mission Statement

It is the duty of the KRPF and each member thereof to maintain peace, order, and public safety in the territory, to prevent crime and infringements of the by-laws of the municipal corporations, the ordinances of the KRG, and the laws of Québec and Canada, and to seek out offenders.


Vision

The vision of the KRPF is to provide the people of Nunavik with the best professional, respectful and efficient police services and to become a benchmark for police services in Inuit and indigenous communities, both in operational and administrative matters.


Values

The KRPF believes that through the application of the commonly held values described below, we will achieve excellence in policing in Nunavik

  • The highest moral and ethical standards. Striving to uphold the public trust and maintain accountability to the public through all employees and volunteers.
  • Our employees are the most important asset and only through teamwork, mutual respect, and cooperation can communities be best served.
  • The role of the police is determined by the community it serves and it is through a partnership with the citizens that the police improves the quality of life through control and reduction of crime.
  • The police and the community share in the responsibility for crime control and public safety.
  • The capability to accomplish our mission is determined by the dedication to public service, diversity and quality of the work force and we seek to recruit and retain individuals who possess those qualities.
  • We seek to collaborate with the communities to better understand the nature of local problems and to develop meaningful and cooperative strategies to solve these problems.
  • Enhance the skills of all personnel to ensure motivation, creativity, dedication and professionalism, while creating an atmosphere of job satisfaction, enthusiasm, security and personal career development.
  • Expand with maximum efficiency available resources, both personnel and financial, in order to provide optimum service to the citizens.

  • State-of-the-art technologies and continuous up-to-date training in order to maintain and enhance police service delivery to the citizens.


SQ Officers in front of the Kuujjuaq police station circa 1980.

Policing

The Kativik Regional Police Force (KRPF) delivers regular policing services with detachments in every community. Community detachments are composed of three officers, except in Kuujjuarapik, Inukjuak, Salluit, Puvirnituq and Kuujjuaq, which have respectively four, five, six, seven and eight officers. The headquarters of the KRPF are located in Kuujjuaq.

The Nunavik Investigation Unit was created in 2009 to promote the sharing of intelligence and expertise between the KRPF and the Sûreté du Québec (SQ). With one KRPF member and four SQ members based in Kuujjuaq, the Unit focuses on drug trafficking and bootlegging, as well as crimes of a sexual nature. In addition, the KRPF has a criminal intelligence officer who is mainly devoted to drug trafficking and bootlegging files. The position is funded through the Ungaluk Program for safer communities. Part of the officer’s duties involves gathering information from the communities that could be used to execute warrants or seizures under municipal by-laws.

The Aboriginal Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit (A-CFSEU) is another joint policing initiative involving the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the SQ and Aboriginal police services across Québec.


Funding

A tripartite agreement in effect between April 1, 2014, and March 31, 2018, provides funding for KRPF operations. In line with the usual federal-provincial funding split under the First Nations Policing Program, Canada has committed to provide 52% and Québec 48% of funding under the tripartite agreement. A bilateral agreement with Québec for the same period for the purpose of maintaining police services in the communities is also in effect.

Some additional funding is received by the KRPF under mandate B.11 of the Agreement concerning Block Funding for the Kativik Regional Government (Sivunirmut Agreement) for the delivery of guarding services during sessions of the itinerant court and from other sources for crime prevention activities, the Cadet Program and officer training.

​The financial burden carried by the Kativik Regional Police Force (KRPF) for guarding and transferring detainees is directly proportional to the number of arrests, bail hearings and cases heard by the region’s itinerant court. The costs are in fact estimated to represent 15% of the KRPF’s operating budget. The KRPF and its partners have so far been unable to identify immediate solutions to lower these costs. Savings generated in this area would make available more financial resources for regular policing services.