How are police forces governed in the Province of New Brunswick?
The way police forces are governed depends on the type of police service: municipal / regional police or contracted RCMP services. Municipal / Regional police services are most commonly governed by a local committee of the municipal council. However a municipal / regional police force is governed by a Board of Police Commissioners created by each participating municipality, or a municipality may wish to create such a Board to govern their municipal police force. The municipal council sets the overall budget and appoints the Chief of Police. Whereas a board may be empowered by a municipal council to select and hire a police chief on their behalf. The municipal council or the board cannot issue instructions to any police officer other than the chief of police. Authorities of the governing bodies and the Chief of Police are clearly described in the Police Act. The RCMP provincial police service is directly governed by the federal government under an agreement with the Province. The agreem
