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Law enforcement officer

Public-sector employee whose duties primarily involve the enforcement of laws

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Through North American English, Public sector and Employment

Modern legal codes use the term peace officer (or in some jurisdictions, law enforcement officer) to include every person vested by the legislating state with law enforcement authority. Traditionally, anyone "sworn, badged, and armable" who can arrest, or refer such arrest for a criminal prosecution. Security officers may enforce certain laws and administrative regulations, which may include detainment or apprehension authority, including arresting in some jurisdictions. Peace officers may also be able to perform all duties that a law enforcement officer is tasked with, but may or may not be armed with a weapon. The term peace officer in some jurisdictions is interchangeable with law enforcement officer or police officer, but in others peace officer is a totally separate legal designation with quasi-police powers.

Canada

In Canada, the Criminal Code (R.S., c. C-34, s. 2.) defines a peace officer as:

Peace officer includes

  • (a) a mayor, warden, reeve, sheriff, deputy sheriff, sheriff's officer, and justice of the peace,
  • (b) a member of the Correctional Service of Canada who is designated as a peace officer pursuant to Part I of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act, and a warden, deputy warden, instructor, keeper, jailer, guard and any other officer or permanent employee of a prison other than a penitentiary as defined in Part I of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act,
  • (c) a police officer, police constable, bailiff, constable, or other person employed for the preservation and maintenance of the public peace or the service or execution of civil process,
  • (d) an officer within the meaning of the Customs Act, the Excise Act or the Excise Act, 2001, or a person having the powers of such an officer, when performing any duty in the administration of any of those Acts,
  • (d.1) an officer authorized under subsection 138(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act,
  • (e) a person designated as a fishery guardian under the Fisheries Act when performing any duties or functions under that Act and a person designated as a fishery officer under the Fisheries Act when performing any duties or functions under that Act or the Coastal Fisheries Protection Act,
  • (f) the pilot in command of an aircraft
    • (i) registered in Canada under regulations made under the Aeronautics Act, or
    • (ii) leased without crew and operated by a person who is qualified under regulations made under the Aeronautics Act to be registered as the owner of an aircraft registered in Canada under those regulations, while the aircraft is in flight, and
  • (g) officers and non-commissioned members of the Canadian Forces who are
    • (i) appointed for the purposes of section 156 of the National Defence Act, (Military Police) or
    • (ii) employed on duties that the Governor in Council, in regulations made under the National Defence Act for this paragraph, has prescribed to be of such a kind as to necessitate that the officers and non-commissioned members performing them have the powers of peace officers;

Section (b) allows for designation as a peace officer for a member of the Correctional Service of Canada under the following via the Corrections and Conditional Release Act:

*10. The Commissioner may in writing designate any staff member, either by name or by class, to be a peace officer, and a staff member so designated has all the powers, authority, protection and privileges that a peace officer has by law in respect of

  • (a) an offender subject to a warrant or an order for long-term supervision; and
  • (b) any person, while the person is in a penitentiary.

Also, provincial legislatures can designate a class of officers (i.e. Conservation Officers, Park Rangers and Commercial Vehicle Safety and Enforcement) to be peace officers.

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