Law enforcement in the province

Local governments are responsible for choosing a policing model for their communities, and the Minister of Public Safety is responsible for ensuring that policing models provide adequate law enforcement.

There are three types of enforcement officers in New Brunswick:

• RCMP officers
• Municipal and regional police officers
• Justice and Public Safety peace officers

The RCMP, as the provincial police service for New Brunswick, provides police coverage for 98% of the province’s land mass and 70% of its population.

The RCMP also polices 14 of 15 First Nations communities in New Brunswick and serves in rural areas as well as large municipalities. 

The RCMP also provides specialized policing services.  Those include:

• forensic identification services
• police dog services
• special tactical operations
• the major crime unit
• the emergency response team
• the underwater recovery team
• the crisis negotiation team
• the integrated technology crime unit
• the internet child exploitation unit
• the explosive disposal unit

There are 13 local governments with municipal/regional police forces in New Brunswick. They are governed and overseen by city councils and/or police boards. They serve:

• Bathurst
• Edmundston
• Fredericton
• Grand Falls
• Kennebecasis (Quispamsis and Rothesay)
• Saint John
• Miramichi
• Woodstock
• BNPP (Beresford, Nigadoo, Petit-Rocher and Pointe-Verte)

The Department of Justice and Public Safety’s peace officers are responsible for enforcing provincial legislation related to:

• conservation
• commercial and off-road vehicles
• safer communities programs in the province

They include conservation officers, highway safety enforcement officers and general investigators. 

They are responsible for the Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods Program and addressing illegal cannabis and tobacco operations. They enforce various acts and regulations dealing with the purchase and sale of salvage and used car parts, liquor licensing, tobacco sales to minors and lottery and gaming legislation.

The officers provide a unified approach to commercial vehicle enforcement. 

Conservation officers ensure the protection of fish, wildlife, natural resources and the environment.

Law enforcement partners from across the province work collaboratively. Some of the initiatives underway to address crime and make communities safer include:

• The Provincial Crime Reduction Unit (PCRU) includes police officers from the RCMP and the Fredericton Police Force. It operates throughout the province, addressing high-risk violence, firearms and the trafficking of illegal drugs.
• The Integrated Enforcement Units (IEU) includes the RCMP, the province’s nine municipal and regional police forces and Justice and Public Safety peace officers. These units focus on disrupting violence, firearms and the trafficking of illegal drugs at the street to mid-level.