British Columbia Sheriff Service
| British Columbia Sheriff Service | |
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| Common name | Sheriff Service |
| Abbreviation | BCSS |
Wallet Badge of BC Sheriff Service
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Shoulder Flash
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BC Sheriff Service Coat of Arms
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| Motto | Honour, Integrity, Commitment |
| Agency overview | |
| Formed | 1974; inception 1857 |
| Legal personality | Governmental: Government agency |
| Jurisdictional structure | |
| Operations jurisdiction* | Province of British Columbia, Canada |
| Size | 944,735 km2 |
| Population | 4,622,000 |
| Legal jurisdiction | Province of British Columbia |
| Governing body | Ministry of Justice |
| Constituting instrument | Sheriff Act and Police Act |
| General nature |
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| Operational structure | |
| Headquarters | Victoria, BC |
| Deputy Sheriffs | 455 |
| Civilian employees | 5 |
| Elected officer responsible | The Honourable Suzanne Anton, Minister of Justice and Attorney General |
| Agency executive | Paul Corrado, Chief Sheriff |
| Facilities | |
| Stations | 44 |
| Patrol cars | Crown Victoria Police Interceptors Chevrolet Suburban Police Chevrolet Tahoe Police special Chevrolet Express Van Police package Ford E - series Van Police package |
| Website | |
| B.C. Sheriff Service | |
| Footnotes | |
| * Divisional agency: Division of the country, over which the agency has usual operational jurisdiction. | |
British Columbia Sheriff Service (BCSS) traces its roots to the first Sheriff appointed by Governor James Douglas in 1857 for the Colony of Vancouver Island in what is now British Columbia, Canada. Governor Douglas appointed Andrew Muir who derived his authority from English common law and who holds the distinction of being the first sworn Peace Officer in what is now the Province of British Columbia. The modern BCSS was formed after a consolidation of County Sheriffs by the New Democratic government in 1974, and placed under the Ministry of the Attorney General.
BCSS members are Peace Officers who receive their authority from the Criminal Code, the BC Police Act, the BC Sheriff Act and as such have legislated authority to enforce provincial and federal statutes that refer to the empowerment of Peace Officers, they have authority throughout the Province of British Columbia.
BCSS members carry out protective and enforcement duties in support of the administration of Justice. Responsibilities include the protection of the Provincial, Supreme and Appeal Courts of BC, planning high security trials, utilizing Special Operations Teams, Intelligence Unit, assessing threats towards those employed in the Justice system and B.C Government, protection of Judges, Crown Prosecutors and those employed by government, managing detention cells, transportation of prisoners by ground and air, manage and provide protection for Juries, serve court-related documents, execute court orders, execute criminal and civil warrants, and manage Coroner's courts. Highly specialized training has been provided to some BCSS members who are trained in the collection and handling of DNA samples and fingerprints taken under court order from named person(s) and whose samples are in turn then transferred to the Canadian National DNA Data Bank in Ottawa.
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Wikipedia