Policing the Wild North-West: A Sociological Study of the Provincial Police in Alberta And Saskatchewan, 1905-32

The first comprehensive social history of provincial police in western Canada between 1905 & 1932, author Zhiqiu Lin investigates the complex relationship between the role of policing, the political sphere, & social progress. This book attempts to analyse the effects on provincial police in Alberta & Saskatchewan of various social phenomena ranging from political radicals & vagrants, to prohibition bootleggers & black market profiteers. These factors placed enormous demands on the development of policing & had a significant impact on three specific & interrelated areas: first, the professionalisation of police organisations within society, as evidenced by changes in policing technology, varying political agendas, & perhaps most importantly, within the police organisations themselves; second, the shifting of focus away from the 'dangerous classes' & social agitators towards investigative procedures required for solving serious crime; and, finally, the impact of policing on the rates of crime as influenced by the role of police officers as agents of social change & the value of social service in strengthening community & reducing the motivation towards criminal activity. The book concludes with an examination of the transition between federal & provincial responsibilities for policing in the two provinces, the reasons for the disbandonment of the provincial police forces, & the broader issues of police development & the rationalisation of policing in modern society.