Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & ManagementCrime, costs, and well being: policing Canadian Aboriginal communitiesRick Ruddell Savvas Lithopoulos Nicholas A. Jones

Article information:To cite this document:Rick Ruddell Savvas Lithopoulos Nicholas A. Jones , (2014),"Crime, costs, and well being: policingCanadian Aboriginal communities", Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management,Vol. 37 Iss 4 pp. 779 - 793Permanent link to this document:http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/PIJPSM-01-2014-0013

Downloaded on: 13 November 2014, At: 05:51 (PT)References: this document contains references to 58 other documents.To copy this document: permissions@emeraldinsight.comThe fulltext of this document has been downloaded 17 times since 2014*

Users who downloaded this article also downloaded:Luke Bonkiewicz, Alan M. Green, Kasey Moyer, Joseph Wright, (2014),"Left alone when the cops go home:evaluating a post-mental health crisis assistance program", Policing: An International Journal of PoliceStrategies & Management, Vol. 37 Iss 4 pp. 762-778 http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/PIJPSM-04-2014-0035Raša Dimitrijevi#, Nenad Koropanovski, Milivoj Dopsaj, Goran Vu#kovi#, Radivoje Jankovi#, (2014),"Theinfluence of different physical education programs on police students’ physical abilities", Policing:An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, Vol. 37 Iss 4 pp. 794-808 http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/PIJPSM-05-2014-0060Jennifer H. Webster, (2014),"Perceived stress among police officers: an integrative model of stress andcoping", Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, Vol. 37 Iss 4 pp.839-857 http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/PIJPSM-06-2014-0064

Access to this document was granted through an Emerald subscription provided by 477494 []

For AuthorsIf you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald forAuthors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelinesare available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information.

About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The companymanages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well asproviding an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.

Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committeeon Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archivepreservation.

*Related content and download information correct at time of download.

Dow

nloa

ded

by U

nive

rsity

of

Reg

ina

At 0

5:51

13

Nov

embe

r 20

14 (

PT)

Crime, costs, and well being:policing Canadian Aboriginal

communitiesRick Ruddell

Department of Justice Studies, University of Regina, Regina, Canada

Savvas LithopoulosAboriginal Policing Directorate, Public Safety Canada, Ottawa, Canada, and

Nicholas A. JonesDepartment of Justice Studies, University of Regina, Regina, Canada

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to compare the community level factors associated with policestrength and operational costs in Aboriginal police services from four different geographic zones,including remote communities inaccessible by road[1].Design/methodology/approach – Analysis of variance was used to determine whether there was astatistically significant difference in per capita policing costs, the officer to resident ratio, an index ofcommunity well-being and crime severity in 236 rural and remote Canadian communities.Findings – The authors found that places that were geographically inaccessible or further fromurban areas had rates of police-reported crime several times the national average and low levels ofcommunity well-being. Consistent with those results, the per capita costs of policing were many timesgreater than the national average, in part due to higher officer to resident ratios.Research limitations/implications – These results are from rural Canada and might not begeneralizable to other nations.Practical implications – Given the complex needs of these communities, these findings reinforce theimportance of delivering full-time professional police services in rural and remote communities. Shortduration or temporary postings may reduce police legitimacy as residents may perceive that theirrural or Aboriginal status makes them less valued than city dwellers. As a result, agencies shouldprioritize the retention of experienced officers in these communities.Originality/value – These findings validate the observations of officers about the challenges thatmust be overcome in policing these distinctive communities. This information can be used to informfuture studies of rural and remote policing.

Keywords Canada, Aboriginal policing, Rural policing

Paper type Research paper

Most police scholarship focusses upon what occurs in urban areas. Rural crime andthe formal responses to those offenses have garnered comparatively little scholarlyattention (Donnermeyer and DeKeseredy, 2014; Weisheit et al., 2006). This isunderstandable as most police researchers, who tend to work in cities, study what isfamiliar and convenient. Urban governments are also contracting with academics tocarry out policing research and police departments are employing a growing numberof investigators to conduct operational and evaluation research. Few stand-alone ruralpolice services have the funds or expertise for such undertakings. Moreover, whatis occurring in urban policing is considered to be on the leading edge and we seldomlook toward rural places for innovative practices. As a result, we are gaining a betterunderstanding of public opinion, operational strategies and best practices in urbanpolicing without a corresponding growth in knowledge about the operations of rural

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available atwww.emeraldinsight.com/1363-951X.htm

Received 31 January 2014Revised 29 June 2014

23 July 2014Accepted 23 July 2014

Policing: An International Journal ofPolice Strategies & Management

Vol. 37 No. 4, 2014pp. 779-793

r Emerald Group Publishing Limited1363-951X

DOI 10.1108/PIJPSM-01-2014-0013

779

PolicingCanadian

Aboriginalcommunities

Dow

nloa

ded

by U

nive

rsity

of

Reg

ina

At 0

5:51

13

Nov

embe

r 20

14 (

PT)

agencies. What happens in the countryside in terms of law enforcement is often anafterthought to police scholars; a perspective that overlooks the fact that ruralpopulations represent about one-fifth of the populations of Canada and the USA andapproximately one-eighth of the populations of Australia, New Zealand and the UK(Trading Economics, 2013).

In response to crime in the countryside, governments at different levels in wealthynations have developed a number of different policing arrangements. Some of thesearrangements are a consequence of the levels of government funding police operations,and US sheriffs and county governments have resisted consolidation in order tomaintain autonomy and local accountability (Mawby, 2011). Policing in rural America,for example, is decentralized and carried out by thousands of smaller agencies. In 2008,there were 6,659 police departments and sheriff’s offices employing fewer than tenemployees (Reaves, 2011). There has been relatively little consolidation in theseagencies over time and a review of Bureau of Justice Statistics reports revealed thatthere were 3,084 sheriff’s offices in 1993 and 3,012 in 2007 (Burch, 2012; Reaves andSmith, 1996).

In keeping with the centralized nature of policing in other English-speakingcommon law nations, there has been a much greater consolidation of rural policeservices in these nations than in the USA and Smith and Somerville (2013) noted that“since 2000, approximately 1,017 police stations have been closed in the UK, themajority of which have been in rural areas.” Slade (2013) reported that Scottish policeservices had amalgamated and the Herald Scotland (2014) indicated that 60 percent ofthe police stations in that nation had closed since 2007. An analysis of media reportsrevealed that police stations throughout Australia, New Zealand and Tasmania hadalso closed, but not to the same extent as in the UK (Ruddell and Jones, 2014). Thisconsolidation of police operations is part of a long-term trend in the policing industry(Maguire and King, 2007).

In Canada, most rural policing is delivered by the federal police service, the RoyalCanadian Mounted Police (RCMP); however, in Ontario and Quebec rural communitiesare served by their provincial police services. Despite the fact that officers working inrural areas are employed by these large organizations, they are typically deployed indetachments of fewer than ten officers that could be a 1,000 miles away from theirprovincial headquarters (or as many as 3,000 miles from the national headquarters ofthe RCMP). While they may be geographically isolated from headquarters, they doreceive support when specialized police services are required (e.g. aviation, canine orSWAT/emergency response), although that help could be a day or more away,particularly in bad weather. Rural and remote detachment commanders can also drawupon administrative support from headquarters staff members.

There are also 38 Canadian police services that operate under the auspices ofAboriginal governments, referred to as self-administered police services. In otherwords, they operate almost identically to a municipal police service or sheriff’s office,but instead of being supervised by a mayor or board of supervisors, the policeoperations are overseen by Chiefs and band councils. While most of theseself-administered police services are relatively small, there are several largerregional Aboriginal police services (e.g. over 50 officers). Regardless of size, all of theseself-administered agencies can call upon the provincial or federal police if they needoperational support.

Regardless of the specific policing arrangements that evolved in North America andelsewhere, the quality of rural policing is of great interest to the tens of millions of

780

PIJPSM37,4

Dow

nloa

ded

by U

nive

rsity

of

Reg

ina

At 0

5:51

13

Nov

embe

r 20

14 (

PT)

citizens living in these areas, especially given that rates of crime are often higher thanin cities (Donnermeyer and DeKeseredy, 2014; Francisco and Chenier, 2007; Ruddell,2015). Urban law enforcement organizations and city residents also have an interest inwhat happens in the countryside. In terms of crime, for example, rural offenses –especially those relating to interpersonal violence, feuds and gang or organized crimeactivities – sometimes spill over into the cities. In addition, in many nations, the costsof rural policing are borne by all taxpayers, and “unlike urban policing, where agencyadministrators can take greater advantage of economies of scale, the nature of ruralpolicing – vast areas that must be served – make it cost inefficient” ( Jones et al., 2013,p. 48). For example, in the Canadian city of Toronto (with 2.6 million residents) policingcosts accounted for 11.3 percent of the 2014 municipal budget, but cities of 250,000residents are typically projected to spend between 20 and 25 percent of their budgetson policing and some rural Canadian communities pay an even greater proportion(Ruddell, 2015).

The current study focusses upon different community-level contextual factorsrelated to policing within four types of rural Canadian Aboriginal communities asdefined by their distance from urban centers and their accessibility. Our intention is toshed light on the distinctive aspects about these communities with a focus on isolatedplaces. Although there has been comparatively little scholarly attention placed on thecharacteristics of these communities or officers working within them, this is of interestas self-report information from officers suggests that working in these places posesa number of distinct challenges (Alderson-Gill & Associates Consulting Incorporated,2008). The following section provides a brief introduction into the relationships ofAboriginal persons with the Canadian justice system, the challenges of policingisolated communities, as well as a description of the data and methods used in thisstudy. A discussion of the implications of this study follows the results section.

Aboriginal persons and the Canadian justice systemAboriginal peoples have the highest rates of involvement in Canada’s justice system.Lithopoulos (2013) compared rates of crime in communities policed by 50 Aboriginalpolice detachments to those non-Aboriginal communities policed by980 police services across Canada. He found that in 2012 incidents of crime inAboriginal communities were 3.7 times higher than in non-Aboriginal communities,violent crime was 6.7 times higher and homicide was 5.9 times greater. These findingsare consistent with prior national-level research and Brzozowski et al. (2006, p. 1)reported that “On-reserve crime rates in 2004 were about three times higher than ratesin the rest of Canada,” and that, “The difference was even greater for violent crime,with an on-reserve rate that was eight times the violent crime rate of the rest of thecountry.”

Many of the victims of these crimes are Aboriginal: Perreault and Brennan (2010)found that rates of self-reported violent victimization were twice that of non-Aboriginalpersons. With respect to gender, Brennan (2011) reported that Aboriginal women werethree times more likely to be victims of violence than non-Aboriginal women. Rhoad(2013, p. 25) also observed that “between 1997 and 2000, the rate of homicide overallfor Aboriginal women was 5.4 per 100,000 residents, compared to 0.8 per 100,000for non-Aboriginal women – almost seven times higher.” Scrim (2010, p. 16) reportedthat rates of sexual assault in Northern Nunavut communities – most of whichare isolated – were “96.1 for every 10,000 people compared to the overall rate inCanada of 7.8.”

781

PolicingCanadian

Aboriginalcommunities

Dow

nloa

ded

by U

nive

rsity

of

Reg

ina

At 0

5:51

13

Nov

embe

r 20

14 (

PT)

One of the outcomes of high crime rates in Aboriginal communities is that thesepeoples are over-represented in the adult and youth justice systems. Aboriginal peoplesrepresented 4.3 percent of the Canadian population in 2011, but 20.5 percent of thefederal prison population in 2012/2013 (Public Safety Canada, 2013a, p. 53). Not onlyare these individuals disproportionately admitted to corrections, but the proportion ofthese offenders is increasing over time. Public Safety Canada (2013a, p. 50) reportedthat between 2008/2009 and 2012/2013 the Caucasian offender population decreasedby about 1 percent whereas the overall Aboriginal offender population grew by25.8 percent. There is also an over-representation of Aboriginal youth in custodialplacements (Perreault, 2014).

In some respects, the over-representation of Aboriginal persons in the Canadianjustice system is similar to that in other nations colonized by the English.For example, Indigenous persons in Australia accounted for 3 percent of the totalgeneral population (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2013a) and 27 percent of theprison population (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2013b, pp. 49-50). Furthermore,Maori peoples in New Zealand represented 15.4 percent of the population in 2012(Statistics New Zealand, 2013) but over one-half (50.7 percent) of the prisonpopulation at the end of 2012 (New Zealand Department of Corrections, 2013). In theUS “the incarceration rate for American Indians was about 25 percent higher thanthe overall national incarceration rate” (Minton, 2011, p. 2). Many of the offences thatprecipitated these disproportionate levels of imprisonment originated in rural areas– creating an ongoing challenge for the police.

A series of commissions and studies conducted by the Canadian federal andprovincial governments throughout the 1970s and 1980s identified a number ofshortcomings in the administration of justice for Aboriginal peoples (AlbertaGovernment, 1991). Several initiatives were introduced to respond to theseshortcomings, including the First Nations Policing Program (FNPP). The FNPP wasintroduced by the Canadian government in 1992 to improve policing arrangements inAboriginal communities by providing them with access to police services that areprofessional, effective, culturally appropriate and accountable to the communities theyserve. A cornerstone of the FNPP is a federal-provincial funding arrangement thatcovers 100 percent of the policing costs for Aboriginal communities that can choose toestablish their own police service or contract with existing agencies to provide policingservices. The FNPP is unique in that it is the only national-level Aboriginal policingstrategy in English-speaking common law nations. According to Public Safety Canada(2014) there were 1,245 police officers funded by the FNPP, which is a very smallfraction of the 69,272 officers employed throughout Canada on May 15, 2013 (Hutchins,2014, p. 3). The following section describes some of the challenges that these officersconfront.

Policing remote Aboriginal communitiesThere has been very little scholarship about policing remote or isolated communitiesand how (or whether) it differs from rural policing. Many of the populations residing inthese out-of-the-way places are Indigenous peoples (see Nalla and Newman, 2013) andCanada is no exception as most residents of remote and isolated Canadian communitiesare Aboriginal persons. Health Canada (2009, p. 37) reported that there were 221Aboriginal isolated communities in the country and they are characterized by theirsmall populations and unforgiving environmental conditions. Many of thesecommunities are referred to as fly-in as they have year-round air access while

782

PIJPSM37,4

Dow

nloa

ded

by U

nive

rsity

of

Reg

ina

At 0

5:51

13

Nov

embe

r 20

14 (

PT)

lacking year-round roads and are only accessible by winter roads or by boat duringsummer months.

Policing remote or isolated places – also called limited-duration posts by somepolice services – poses numerous challenges for officers. As noted above, average ratesof crime in Aboriginal communities are several times the national average (Brzozowskiet al., 2006; Lithopoulos, 2013). With respect to the actual types of offenses in theseplaces, Lithopoulos and Ruddell (2011) found that officers reported high rates ofviolence (including domestic or family violence), feuding between different groups andproperty crime. Rates of social disorganization reported by these officers were alsohigh, and included high poverty and unemployment, inadequate housing, childwelfare problems and substance abuse (Lithopoulos and Ruddell, 2011). Despite thehigh demands placed on them, officers believed that community residents had highexpectations for the police.

Life in these limited-duration posts can be harsh for residents and officers alike. Thecost of living is high and depending on their location, residents of some isolated placesmight only receive their main purchases of food and household goods once a year andafterwards must supplement these purchases with trips to the local store, where foodcosts are almost twice the national average (Nunavut Bureau of Statistics, 2013). In someplaces, officers live in detachment housing that might be attached to an office andtemporary holding cells for prisoners, which makes it difficult to “escape” theiroccupational roles while off-duty. While the internet has made it easier to keep in contactwith the outside world, there are sometimes connectivity issues in remote locations.Additionally, while many remote locations provide basic levels of services (oftendelivered by professionals who visit the community on a bi-weekly or monthly basis),there is a lack of specialized services including health care. Moreover, the familymembers of officers working in limited-duration posts may find it difficult to findemployment and there is little choice in schools for their children. Analyses of surveydata from officers working in Aboriginal communities also revealed that their familymembers were sometimes the targets of intimidation (Lithopoulos and Ruddell, 2011).

While both officers and members of the public in urban areas are generallyanonymous, officers working in rural and remote places are well known to local residentsand many live in the communities that they police (Alderson-Gill & AssociatesConsulting Incorporated, 2008). Thomson and Clairmont (2013) likened policing in smallcommunities to living in a fishbowl. This lack of anonymity can contribute to feelings ofbeing trapped by one’s job and may be further exacerbated by living in governmenthousing. Officers working these places report that residents seldom make the distinctionbetween work and non-work hours and often approach off-duty officers on the street todiscuss police-related matters or appear at an officer’s home to report offenses. Thatfamiliarity might contribute to the expectation of leniency, especially since many of theseofficers try to participate in local activities to reduce the social distance between thepublic and police and be part of the community (Scaplen, 2009).

Lithopoulos and Ruddell’s (2011) study revealed that officers believed that thenature of policing these Aboriginal communities was less formal than what occurs innon-Aboriginal locations. Not only were officers more aware of the distinctive culturalelements of Aboriginal policing, but their operational behaviors also changed. Officerswere more likely to rely upon alternatives to arrest and they reported having modifiedtheir interactions with suspects due to a lack of back-up (Lithopoulos and Ruddell,2011). In detachments with only two or three personnel, officers often work aloneand – depending on police service – one of these off-duty officers is required to

783

PolicingCanadian

Aboriginalcommunities

Dow

nloa

ded

by U

nive

rsity

of

Reg

ina

At 0

5:51

13

Nov

embe

r 20

14 (

PT)

be on-call. Consequently, these policing roles are not for everyone and officers mustbe able to “fit” into these posts (Cook et al., 2009). In order to enhance the successof officers working in limited-duration posts, candidates in some police services,and sometimes their family members, undergo psychological assessments andparticipate in pre-deployment counseling to prepare them for their new roles (Schmalz,2009).

Some of the challenges reported above are moderated in large networked policeservices, as placements in isolated communities are typically short-term and reliefofficers are available to temporarily replace officers requiring time away for vacations,training, court or health care (Scaplen, 2009). Provincial police officers in the provinceof Quebec (the Surete du Quebec), by contrast, have a rather distinctive policingarrangement as they are temporarily transferred from their permanent postings toremote posts for a week or ten days, and they are returned home (Curtis, 2013).As different officers would be working every week, this approach increases thesocial distance between the police and public, and they cannot develop a completeunderstanding of the distinctive culture of these communities.

By contrast, officers in smaller, stand-alone self-administered agencies might bepermanently posted to remote communities, and this might make it more difficult torecruit and retain officers in those police services ( Jones et al., 2013). Turnover in thesesmaller operations can be very high as some new police officers may accept a job inthese services, and then transfer to a larger agency after they have developed theirknowledge and skills on the job. One example of a mass turnover occurred at theKativik Regional Police Force (an agency serving rural Quebec), that lost 30 of their66 officers between January 1 and May 30, 2013 (George, 2013). As a result of highlevels of officer turnover, some small agencies are caught in a cycle of recruiting,training and mentoring that is expensive and disruptive as the resources and creativityof the agency is spent on ensuring a full complement of officers rather than crimereduction activities or responding to the community’s needs.

Some country people feel that their communities are training grounds for youngerofficers who do not have the depth of experience to deal with some problems (Eby,2011). The challenge is that once they have been posted to the community for a fewyears, have a good understanding of local issues, and developed their knowledge, skillsand abilities as officers, they are transferred. All of that valuable learning is lost whenan officer leaves. Stewart’s (2011, p. 46) study of rural Canadian policing revealed that“the police visit the communities and when they do, locals joke: each time a police truckdrives up, a different, younger, officer gets out.”

One question that comes from the description of policing isolated places highlightedin this section is whether there are differences in the nature of rural communitiesand the challenges that they pose. Are, for instance, levels of crime and well-beingrelatively constant across different geographical zones or do they vary by isolation?While there is considerable anecdotal information that suggests that there aredifferences, there is a dearth of scholarship examining this proposition. The followingsection highlights the data and methods used to investigate these differences.

Data and methodsThe 236 communities considered in this study (policed under 77 different contractingarrangements) were classified into four different geographic zones (geozones) thatdefined their respective geographical isolation. The classification of these geozoneswas based on the distance from urban areas and accessibility (e.g. whether they were

784

PIJPSM37,4

Dow

nloa

ded

by U

nive

rsity

of

Reg

ina

At 0

5:51

13

Nov

embe

r 20

14 (

PT)

communities that had no year-round road access). Table I presents the definitions of thefour different geozones.

Four different indicators of police operations are considered in this study using dataobtained from the Government of Canada. First, the Crime Severity Index (CSI)indicated levels of police reported crime. The CSI was introduced in 2009 as a measureof both the volume and seriousness of offenses reported to the police (Statistics Canada,2009). Higher values on this measure indicate higher levels of property and violentcrime. A second dependent variable included in the analyses is the communitywell-being (CWB) index, which is an indicator of the quality of life developed byAboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada. This measure considers foureconomic and social conditions, including education, labor force participation, incomeand housing (O’Sullivan, 2011). Higher values on this indicator represent a betterquality of community life. One limitation of this study is that the justice data obtainedwere from 2010 to 2011 the CWB index was from 2006. Despite the fact that these dataare somewhat dated, these indices tend to be fairly stable over time. Two indicators ofpolice strength are also used in this study: officers per 1,000 residents in the communityand per capita policing costs in dollars. These data were obtained from the AboriginalPolicing Directorate (Public Safety Canada, 2013b).

While there were 634 First Nations (the contemporary term for Indian Reservations)in Canada in 2013, crime and justice related data were available for 236 communitiespoliced by 77 police detachments or services funded under the FNPP. Descriptivestatistics were conducted on the communities considered in this study. Most ofthese places were sparsely populated and the mean size of the area policed was 3,002residents and entire sample population represented 231,179 residents, which waso1 percent of the national population. In terms of methodological techniques,comparisons of these indicators are displayed in Figures 1-4. As all of these indicators

Zone Definition

Geographiczone 1

The community is located within 50 kilometers (30 miles) of the nearest urban areawith year-round road access (n¼ 28)

Geographiczone 2

The community is located within 50 and 350 kilometers (30-217 miles) of the nearesturban area with year-round road access (n¼ 34)

Geographiczone 3

The community is located over 350 kilometers (217 miles) from the nearest urban areawith year-round road access (n¼ 4)

Geographiczone 4

The community has no year-round road access to an urban area (could have “winter”roads, or access in the summer by water, or accessible only by aircraft) (n¼ 11)

Table I.Geographic zones

(geozones)

4.82 4.664.98

5.83

0Geozone 4Geozone 3Geozone 2Geozone 1

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Figure 1.Officers per 1,000

residents by geographiczone, 2011

785

PolicingCanadian

Aboriginalcommunities

Dow

nloa

ded

by U

nive

rsity

of

Reg

ina

At 0

5:51

13

Nov

embe

r 20

14 (

PT)

were of ratio level data, the means for population, per capita policing costs, crimeseverity and community well-being could all be compared across the four geozonesusing analysis of variance (ANOVA). Four dependent variables are considered in thecomparisons that follow: the CSI, per capita policing costs, CWB and the ratio ofofficers to population. One limitation of these data is that the CSI data were onlyavailable for 40 out of the 77 police service agreements analyzed in this study.

ResultsIn 2011, the average ratio of officers to residents for the entire nation was 2.01(Burczycka, 2011). Figure 1 shows the number of officers per 1,000 residents policed forthe 236 communities. With the exception of the geographic zone closest to urban areas,the ratio of officers to residents increases by isolation with the most remotecommunities reporting 5.83 officers per 1,000 residents or almost three times thenational average.

642736 767

1,343

0

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

1,400

1,600

Geozone 4Geozone 3Geozone 2Geozone 1

Figure 2.Per capita policing costsby geographic zone, 2011

260289

245

352

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

Geozone 4Geozone 3Geozone 2Geozone 1

Figure 3.Crime severity index bygeographic zone, 2010

66

6059

55

4850525456586062646668

Geozone 4Geozone 3Geozone 2Geozone 1

Figure 4.Community well-being bygeographic zone, 2006

786

PIJPSM37,4

Dow

nloa

ded

by U

nive

rsity

of

Reg

ina

At 0

5:51

13

Nov

embe

r 20

14 (

PT)

Deploying officers is a costly proposition and in 2011, the average per capita cost ofpolicing in Canada was $375 (Burczycka, 2013). Figure 2 reveals that the cost ofpolicing a First Nation close to an urban area was almost twice the national average.Per capita policing costs were higher as the distance to urban areas increased and theaverage cost in the most isolated places was $1,343, which was over three times thenational average. Part of this cost stems from additional compensation officers receivefor working in these posts and overtime. In addition, police services must also pay forthe relocation, housing and other salary incentives for officers in remote postings.Although salaries represent the highest proportion of overall policing costs, suppliesand support services in remote places are also expensive, as a good or service taken forgranted in the city, such as fuel for the vehicles, must be flown or shipped by boat tothe location when roads into the community are closed – which can double the costs ofthese items.

The need for more officers is driven by high rates of crime in many of thesecommunities. A comparison of the CSI, shown in Figure 3 for 152 Aboriginalcommunities policed by 40 police services, revealed that rates of crime vary bygeographic zone although were highest in the isolated communities and were35 percent greater than communities closest to urban areas. Regardless of thegeographic zone where the Aboriginal community was located, the CSI ranged fromthree to four times the national average.

It is important to acknowledge that factors other than crime also influence thedeployment of the police (Fritsch et al., 2009). Although crime rates are high inAboriginal communities, they are also located in sparsely populated areas and officersmay be responsible for patrolling thousands of square miles as most detachmentsserve numerous communities. In 2013, for example, there were 452 officers in the farNorth (Northwest Territories, Nunavut and Yukon) and they policed over 1.35 millionsquare miles – which is 43 percent of the size of the contiguous USA – or about oneofficer for every 3,000 square miles. Furthermore, policies that specify requirements forback-up officers also increase the number of officers that must be deployed. Due to thelarge service areas, the travel time between these places can be an hour or more,reducing the geographic coverage a single officer can provide. Bad weather andunpaved or seasonal roads can greatly increase response times (Slade, 2013).

White and Maxim (2007) found that disparities in the well-being of Aboriginalcommunities increased with isolation and our analyses revealed similar findings.Figure 4 shows that the CWB index decreases as the distance from an urban centerincreases. While the national average CWB was 77, the highest average CWB in thesecommunities was 66, which was 17 percent less than the national average. The meanCWB in the most isolated communities was 55 or 40 percent less than the nationalaverage.

In order to better understand the relationships between these indicators, a zero-ordercorrelation was conducted to examine the bivariate relationships and these results arepresented in Appendix. Not surprising, the ratio of officers and per capita cost werehighly correlated (r¼ 0.845) as was the relationship between per capita costs andgeographic isolation (r¼ 0.380). As most of the indicators that comprise the index areeconomic (employment, housing and income) or social (education) in nature they reflecta social disorganization explanation of crime. There was a modest negative relationshipbetween the CWB and CSI (r¼�0.275) although it was not statistically significant.Community well-being was, however, significantly associated with both the geographiczone (r¼�0.336) and the officer to resident ratio (r¼ 0.271).

787

PolicingCanadian

Aboriginalcommunities

Dow

nloa

ded

by U

nive

rsity

of

Reg

ina

At 0

5:51

13

Nov

embe

r 20

14 (

PT)

ANOVA was used to examine the differences between these indicators across thefour geozones. The results, shown in Table II, revealed a statistically significantdifference in the per capita policing costs ( p¼ 0.003) and CWB ( p¼ 0.040) between thefour geographic zones. In other words, as the jurisdiction being policed becomes moreremote, CWB decreases and policing costs increase. Inconsistent with expectations,there was not a statistically significant difference between the police officer to residentratio between the four geographic zones. Also inconsistent with expectations, therewas not a statistically significant difference in the CSI between these four zones. Thatfinding, however, might be a consequence of the truncated sample size for thatdependent variable (only examining 40 rather than all 77 of the cases).

DiscussionAltogether, the results of the analyses reported above provided quantitative evidencethat extended the findings of earlier survey research describing the challenges officerspolicing remote communities confront (Alderson-Gill & Associates ConsultingIncorporated, 2008). Donnermeyer and DeKeseredy (2014, p. 94) observed that moststudies of rural policing are based on information obtained from a single jurisdictionand that we lack insight from comparative studies and about “variations in the wayspolice differentially enforce laws and conduct themselves with citizens.” The currentstudy responded to that gap in our knowledge by examining economic, crime-relatedand contextual factors such as well-being associated with policing isolatedcommunities. One weakness of our analyses, however, is that other indicators ofeconomic, structural and cultural conditions were not included to enable us to betterunderstand how these contextual conditions influence the relationships between thepolice and public. Investigators in future studies should endeavor to examine theseissues, especially in light of the Auditor General of Canada’s (2014) observations thatAboriginal policing is underfunded.

The relationships between the police and public in these places are also worthy offurther examination. Donnermeyer and DeKeseredy (2014) argued that studies of ruralpolicing more closely examine community values and policing arrangements. One ofthe hazards in these high-crime remote or isolated posts is over-policing to the extentthat relationships between the police and public are strained (Rudin, 2005). There isevidence that some officers working in these communities increased their thresholdsfor arresting individuals engaging in antisocial behavior or minor crimes (Alderson-Gill & Associates Consulting Incorporated, 2008). The challenge, however, is thatmany community members live in fear and often support more formal approaches toorder maintenance and law enforcement (Public Safety Canada, 2010). Given thesefindings, investigators in future studies might find it fruitful to further examine thesepolice-community relationships.

Studies of policing rural and remote Aboriginal communities are further limited inthat there has been little attention paid to the roles and deployment of non-sworn

Characteristic Number Mean SD F-statistic p-value

Officer to resident ratio (2011) 77 490.4 315.7 0.380 0.767Per capita cost (2011) 77 $790.1 $562.4 4.982 0.003Community well-being (2006) 67 61.1 10.3 2.931 0.040Crime severity index (2010) 40 284.4 179.4 0.341 0.795

Table II.Analysis of variance:policing arrangements forAboriginal communities

788

PIJPSM37,4

Dow

nloa

ded

by U

nive

rsity

of

Reg

ina

At 0

5:51

13

Nov

embe

r 20

14 (

PT)

officials. A number of jurisdictions have introduced different models that involvenon-sworn Indigenous persons in policing. For instance, New Zealand’s Maori wardenswere introduced in 1945, tribal rangers have helped police the American southwestsince 1957, band constables were established in Canada in 1965, Alaska’s village policeofficers were founded in 1979 and Aboriginal community liaison officers established inAustralia in 1986. Although the titles of these non-sworn officials differ they are allintended to improve police visibility, act as positive role models for youth, engage incrime prevention and act as a buffer between the police and public (Ruddell, 2015).Sunahara (2006) pointed out that these officials have knowledge of communitydynamics and can diffuse conflicts in a culturally sensitive manner. While the effortsof these officials have generally been praised in descriptive studies, there has beencomparatively little empirical work that identifies their strengths and weaknesses –which is a limitation in our knowledge, especially given that these officials greatlyoutnumber sworn officers (Rigakos, 2008).

Given the over-representation of Aboriginal persons in justice systems inEnglish-speaking common law nations, there is increasing interest in developingalternative crime reduction strategies, including restorative justice interventions andcommunity-based programs that attempt to bolster problem solving and resilienceusing collaborative interagency approaches. As a result, it is likely that interventions toreduce Aboriginal crime will increasingly take place outside formal justice systems.One of the challenges of implementing these approaches, however, is the dearthof resources in these isolated locations and the high levels of unmet individual andcommunity needs.

Last, although our focus has been on the challenges of policing rural or remotecommunities, there are also rewards. Lytle (2014) found that many officers policingisolated communities expressed levels of job satisfaction that were similar to theircounterparts working in non-isolated communities. Some officers treat theseassignments as an adventure and an opportunity to live in places few of us get toventure. Others request transfers to these communities intending to stay for a fewyears and end up staying for their entire careers (Curtis, 2013). Alderson-Gill &Associates Consulting Incorporated (2008) found that some respondents in their studyof officers were originally from the North and returned in order to help their peoples.Writing about his experiences policing Northern communities Scaplen (2009, p. 17)observed that “In the long run, it was worth every second. I met some amazing people,saw some spectacular landscape and wildlife, and I got paid to do it.”

ConclusionAn evaluation of Aboriginal policing conducted by Public Safety Canada (2010, p. 13)revealed that community stakeholders were generally satisfied with their policingservices, but the evaluators noted that “the combination of manpower shortage andlarge geographical distances to be policed has meant that those in more distant orhard-to-reach places get poorer service such as several days for a response to theircall for service.” A lack of responsive services could reduce public satisfaction in thepolice and may contribute to a loss of legitimacy; especially if the residents in theseout-of-the-way locations feel that their rural or Aboriginal status makes them lessvalued than their urban counterparts.

The analyses reported above revealed that the challenges confronted by Canadianofficers increases the further they are deployed from cities. Officers employed inisolated communities work in places with high levels of crime and a corresponding

789

PolicingCanadian

Aboriginalcommunities

Dow

nloa

ded

by U

nive

rsity

of

Reg

ina

At 0

5:51

13

Nov

embe

r 20

14 (

PT)

decrease in community well-being. Consequently, the officer to resident ratio ishigher, which in turn drives higher policing costs. As such, these findings provideempirical evidence that validates the perceptions of officers reported in theAlderson-Gill & Associates Consulting Incorporated (2008) study. While Aboriginalpolicing represents a very small percentage of all Canadian policing, it is of greatimportance to the people who live in those communities and worthy of research.Although we acknowledge that this research represents a very small piece ina complex puzzle about rural and remote policing it nonetheless expands ourfoundational knowledge and sets the stage for future inquiry – in Canada as well asother nations with high proportions of Indigenous peoples.

Note

1. Aboriginal is the preferred term for Canadian Indigenous persons and is used throughoutthis study. Consistent with the Statistics Canada definition the term Aboriginal includesNorth American Indians, Inuit (people who originated from northern areas) and Metispopulations (people of mixed Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal ancestries).

References

Alberta Government (1991), “Justice on trial”, available at: http://justice.alberta.ca/programs_services/aboriginal/Publications%20Library%20%20Aboriginal%20Justice/CawseyReportVolumeI.aspx/DispForm.aspx?ID¼ 15 (accessed June 15, 2014).

Alderson-Gill & Associates Consulting Incorporated (2008), Socio-Demographic Survey of PoliceOfficers Serving in Aboriginal Communities, Author, Ottawa.

Auditor General of Canada (2014), First Nations Policing Program, Public Safety Canada, Author,Ottawa.

Australian Bureau of Statistics (2013a), “Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populationnearing 700,000”, available at: www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/latestProducts/3238.0.55.001Media%20Release1June%202011 (accessed June 15, 2014).

Australian Bureau of Statistics (2013b), Prisoners in Australia, 2012, Australian Bureau ofStatistics, Canberra.

Brennan, S. (2011), Violent Victimization of Aboriginal Women in the Canadian Provinces,Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Ottawa.

Brzozowski, J., Taylor-Butts, A. and Johnson, S. (2006), Victimization and Offending Among theAboriginal Population in Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Ottawa.

Burch, A.M. (2012), Sheriffs’ Offices, 2007 – Statistical Tables, Bureau of Justice Statistics,Washington, DC.

Burczycka, M. (2011), Police Resources in Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Ottawa.

Burczycka, M. (2013), Police Resources in Canada, 2012, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics,Ottawa.

Cook, G., Martin, W. and Boland, A. (2009), “What are the biggest challenges facing police inremote communities?”, RCMP Gazette, Vol. 71 No. 1, pp. 12-13.

Curtis, C. (2013), “Residents of Quebec first nation don’t want an outside police force any more”,Montreal Gazette, August 8, available at: www.montrealgazette.com/news/ResidentsþQuebecþ FirstþNationþwantþ outsideþ policeþ forceþmore/8765704/story.html (accessed June 15, 2014).

Donnermeyer, J.F. and DeKeseredy, W.S. (2014), Rural Criminology, Routledge, New York, NY.

Eby, D.R. (2011), Small Town Justice: A Report on the RCMP in Northern and Rural BritishColumbia, British Columbia Civil Liberties Association, Vancouver.

790

PIJPSM37,4

Dow

nloa

ded

by U

nive

rsity

of

Reg

ina

At 0

5:51

13

Nov

embe

r 20

14 (

PT)

Francisco, J. and Chenier, C. (2007), A Comparison of Large Urban, Small Urban and Rural CrimeRates, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Ottawa.

Fritsch, E.J., Liederbach, J.R. and Taylor, R.W. (2009), Police Patrol Allocation and Deployment,Prentice Hall, New York, NY.

George, J. (2013), “Beleaguered Nunavik police force trudges on: Kativik regional police forcerebuilds after losing more than 30 members”, Nunatsiaq Online, May 30, available at: www.nunatsiaqonline.ca/stories/article/65674beleaguered_nunavik_police_force_trudges_ahead/(accessed June 15, 2014).

Health Canada (2009), A Statistical Profile on the Health of First Nations in Canada: Determinatesof Health, Vol. 1993-2003. Health Canada, Ottawa.

Herald Scotland (2014), SNP Under Fire for Police Station Closures, available at: www.heraldscotland.com/politics/wider-political-news/snp-under-fire-for-police-station-closures.23630196(accessed June 15, 2104).

Hutchins, H. (2014), Police Resources in Canada, 2013, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics,Ottawa.

Jones, N.A., Ruddell, R., Nestor, R., Quinn, K. and Phillips, B. (2013), First Nations Policing – AReview of the Literature, Collaborative Centre for Justice & Safety, Regina.

Lithopoulos, S. (2013), “First Nations Policing Policy/Program (FNPP) update”, presentation,University Regina, Regina, October 16.

Lithopoulos, S. and Ruddell, R. (2011), “Policing isolated Aboriginal communities: perspectivesof Canadian officers”, Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies andManagement, Vol. 34 No. 3, pp. 434-453.

Lytle, S. (2014), Job Satisfaction: Officers Policing Aboriginal Communities in Canada,unpublished thesis, University of Regina, Regina.

Maguire, E.R. and King, W.R. (2007), “The changing landscape of American policeorganizations”, in Schafer, J.A. (Ed.), Policing 2020: Exploring the Future of Crime,Communities and Policing, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Washington, DC, pp. 337-371.

Mawby, R.I. (2011), “Rural police: a comparative overview”, in Mawby, R.I. and Yarwood, R.(Eds), Rural Policing and Policing the Rural: A Constable Countryside? Ashgate Publishing,Burlington, VT, pp. 11-22.

Minton, T. (2011), Jails in Indian Country, 2009, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Washington, DC.

Nalla, M.K. and Newman, G.R. (2013), Community Policing in Indigenous Communities, CRCPress, Boca Raton, FL.

New Zealand Department of Corrections (2013), Prison Facts and Statistics – December 2012,available at: www.corrections.govt.nz/resources/facts_and_statistics/quarterly_prison_statistics/ps-Dec-2012.html#ethnicity (accessed June 15, 2014).

Nunavut Bureau of Statistics (2013), “Food price survey report”, available at: www.stats.gov.nu.ca/en/Economic%20prices.aspx (accessed June 15, 2014).

O’Sullivan, E. (2011), The Community Well-Being Index (CWB): Measuring Well-Being in FirstNations and Non-Aboriginal Communities, 1981-2006, Aboriginal Affairs and NorthernDevelopment Canada, Ottawa.

Perreault, S. (2014), Admissions to Youth Correctional Services in Canada, 2011/2012, CanadianCentre for Justice Statistics, Ottawa.

Perreault, S. and Brennan, S. (2010), Criminal Victimization in Canada, 2009, Canadian Centrefor Justice Statistics, Ottawa.

Public Safety Canada (2010), 2009-2010 Evaluation of the First Nations Policing Program,Author, Ottawa.

Public Safety Canada (2013a), Unpublished Data: Crime by Geographic Zone, Aboriginal PolicingDirectorate, Ottawa.

791

PolicingCanadian

Aboriginalcommunities

Dow

nloa

ded

by U

nive

rsity

of

Reg

ina

At 0

5:51

13

Nov

embe

r 20

14 (

PT)

Public Safety Canada (2013b), Corrections and Conditional Release Statistical Overview, PublicSafety Canada, Ottawa.

Public Safety Canada (2014), Unpublished Data: FNPP Officers, Aboriginal Policing Directorate,Ottawa.

Reaves, B.A. (2011), Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies, 2008, Bureau ofJustice Statistics, Washington, DC.

Reaves, B.A. and Smith, P.Z. (1996), Sheriff’s Departments, 1993, Bureau of Justice Statistics,Washington, DC.

Rhoad, M. (2013), Those Who Take Us Away: Abusive Policing and Failures in Protection ofIndigenous Women and Girls in Northern British Columbia, Canada, Human RightsWatch, Toronto.

Rigakos, G.S. (2008), Plural Policing in Saskatchewan First Nations, Author, Ottawa.

Ruddell, R. (2015), Policing Rural Canada, de Sitter Publications, Whitby.

Ruddell, R. and Jones, N.A. (2014), The Economics of Policing Five Years into the Great Recession,Collaborative Centre for Justice & Safety, Regina.

Rudin, J. (2005), Aboriginal Peoples and the Criminal Justice System, Ontario Attorney General,Toronto.

Scaplen, T. (2009), “The challenges and rewards of relief work”, The Gazette, Vol. 71 No. 1,pp. 16-17.

Schmalz, B.J. (2009), “Taking on the challenge: psychological preparedness and coping in anisolated post”, The Gazette, Vol. 71 No. 1, pp. 24-25.

Scrim, K. (2010), “Aboriginal victimization in Canada: a summary of the literature”, Victims ofCrime Research Digest, Vol. 3, pp. 15-20, available at: www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/cj-jp/victim/rd3-rr3/rd3.pdf

Slade, B. (2013), “Professional learning in rural practice: a sociomaterial analysis”, Journal ofWorkplace Learning, Vol. 25 No. 2, pp. 114-124.

Smith, R. and Somerville, P. (2013), “The long goodbye: a note on the closure of rural policestations and the decline of rural policing in Britain”, Policing, Vol. 7 No. 4, pp. 348-358.

Statistics Canada (2009), Measuring Crime in Canada: Introducing the Crime Severity Index andImprovements to the Uniform Crime Reporting Survey, Statistics Canada, Ottawa.

Statistics New Zealand (2013), Demographic Trends, 2012, available at: www.stats.govt.nz/browse_for_stats/population/estimates_and_projections/demographic-trends-2012.aspx(accessed June 15, 2014).

Stewart, M. (2011), “The space between the steps: reckoning in an era of reconciliation”,Contemporary Justice Review, Vol. 14 No. 1, pp. 43-63.

Sunahara, D.F. (2006), Peace Officer and Peacekeeper: An Examination of Training Needs,Canadian Police College, Ottawa.

Thomson, A. and Clairmont, D. (2013), “Canada: the Annapolis valley”, in Nalla, M.K. andNewman, G.R. (Eds), Community Policing in Indigenous Communities, CRC Press,Boca Raton, FL, pp. 91-98.

Trading Economics (2013), World Bank Indicators by Country, 2010, available at:www.tradingeconomics.com/country-list/rural-population-wb-data.html (accessed June 15,2014).

Weisheit, R.A., Falcone, D.N. and Wells, L.E. (2006), Crime and Policing in Rural and Small-townAmerica, Waveland Press, Long Grove, IL.

White, J.P. and Maxim, P.S. (2007), Community Well-Being: A Comparable Communities Analysis,available at: www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/ai/rs/pubs/re/cca/cca-eng.pdf (accessed June 15, 2014).

792

PIJPSM37,4

Dow

nloa

ded

by U

nive

rsity

of

Reg

ina

At 0

5:51

13

Nov

embe

r 20

14 (

PT)

Further reading

Ross, C. (2009), “Policing in isolated communities”, The Gazette, Vol. 71 No. 1, p. 10.

Appendix

About the authors

Dr Rick Ruddell is the Law Foundation of Saskatchewan Chair in Police Studies at the Universityof Regina. Prior to this appointment, he served as Director of Operational Research with theCorrectional Service of Canada and held faculty positions at Eastern Kentucky University andthe California State University, Chico. His research has been published in nine books that heauthored, co-authored or edited and 75 peer-reviewed articles, technical reports, book chaptersand articles in professional journals. Dr Rick Ruddell is the corresponding author and can becontacted at: rick.ruddell@uregina.ca

Savvas Lithopoulos (MA, Criminology, University of Ottawa) is a Senior Research Advisor atthe Department of Public Safety Canada. Among his primary areas of research are policing,Aboriginal justice, comparative international criminal justice, policing isolated Aboriginalcommunities, public perceptions of the criminal justice system and the economics of policing.He is also involved in negotiating tripartite Aboriginal policing agreements and providingcapacity-building advice and guidance to police governing bodies and Aboriginal police services.

Dr Nicholas (Nick) A. Jones is an Associate Professor at the Department of Justice Studies atthe University of Regina. Prior to his academic career, he worked with federal parolees andin a youth custody facility. In 2006, he earned a Doctorate in Sociology from the University ofCalgary for his work focussed on the judicial responses to the Rwandan Genocide. His researchinterests include restorative justice, genocide, transitional justice and policing.

Indicator 1 2 3 4 5

1 Crime severity –2 Community well-being �0.275 –3 Geographic zone 0.140 �0.336* –4 Officer resident ratio 0.197 0.271* 0.096 –5 Per capita police cost 0.341* 0.168 0.380* 0.845* –

Mean 284.4 61.1 2.0 490.4 $790.1SD 179.4 10.3 1.0 315.7 $562.4

Table AI.Zero-order correlations,

means andstandard deviations

To purchase reprints of this article please e-mail: reprints@emeraldinsight.comOr visit our web site for further details: www.emeraldinsight.com/reprints

793

PolicingCanadian

Aboriginalcommunities

Dow

nloa

ded

by U

nive

rsity

of

Reg

ina

At 0

5:51

13

Nov

embe

r 20

14 (

PT)