Park Police History
Historical Stories Main
2008 Statistical Information
307 Provincial/Bylaw offence notices issued
Researched and written by Detective Sergeant John Burchill
Winnipeg has more parks per capita than any other city in North America. With over 900 residential parks and 12 major Regional parks, Winnipeg has more than 10,260 acres of parkland.
Although Winnipeg has an abundance of green space, it still enjoys some of the safest parks throughout Canada, which is directly attributable to the efforts of Winnipeg’s Parks Police.
They are not listed in the national police directory, however, with 12 sworn members (3 Sergeants and 9 constables), Winnipeg’s Parks Police is the third largest Municipal or quasi-municipal police service in Manitoba. All their members are fully trained, sworn peace officers, and they meet the same hiring and training standards as members of the Winnipeg Police Service. In fact, all members of the Parks Police are graduates of the Winnipeg Police Academy.
With offices located in Assiniboine Park, Kildonan Park and Kings Park, the Winnipeg Parks Police operate primarily as one-officer units and provide 16 x 7 coverage to most of the major regional parks and operate on a 24-hour a day schedule out of Assiniboine Park. In addition to three marked cruiser cars and an unmarked traffic unit, the Winnipeg Parks Police also operate a bike patrol during large special events.
The Winnipeg Parks Police is a division of the Public Works Department and they can trace their history back to 1897 when the Public Parks Board hired their first Special Constable. Although they share a common telecommunications network, they have never been a part of the Winnipeg Police Service.
On January 9, 1893, the City of Winnipeg adopted the Manitoba Public Parks Act, which gave them the authority to form a Parks Board responsible for the management, regulation and control of all parks, avenues and boulevards within their jurisdiction, and to expropriate land within six miles of the City for the development of public parks.
Immediately after its formation, the Parks Board purchased three large sections of land for $51,500 to develop Assiniboine Park (later re-named Ft. Rouge Park in 1905), St. John’s Park and Central Park. The Parks Board also assumed control of boulevard maintenance and tree planting for the City’s main streets, beginning with Broadway, James, Assiniboine, Kennedy, Hargrave and Donald.
As the Parks Board spent a considerable amount of money to develop these properties, plant trees and shrubs, flower gardens and build roads, they were empowered by the Public Parks Act to protect their investment and all members of the Board, its officers and watchmen, were ex-officio constables. However, it appears that no “police” officers were specifically appointed by the Parks Board to maintain order in the Parks until August 13, 1897, when reference is first made to the appointment of special constables for the City’s “social parks”.
Unfortunately, the Minute Books do not identify who these special constables were and the pay lists for the Board have long since been destroyed. However, on April 24, 1900, the Minute Books identify Mr. Morris as one of the Board’s special constables, when he was assigned by the Board to identify who was responsible for damaging the trees planted along the City’s boulevards.
Due to the huge investment made by the Board in purchasing, planting and maintaining its trees, many of which still graciously line our City’s streets and parks, the Public Parks Act made it an offence to willfully injure, hurt, deface or destroy any tree, shrub or plant on any property under the control of the Board. If convicted, the penalty was a hefty $50.00 fine or 30 days in jail, plus restitution. The Winnipeg Parks By-law today still makes it an offence to damage or injure any city tree.
On May 4, 1904, the Parks Board bought John Smith’s farm along the banks of the Assiniboine River in the Municipality of Tuxedo for $39,903 and designated the land as a new park. The original Assiniboine Park was re-named Ft. Rouge Park the following year, and plans were made to develop John Smith’s old property into a new premier city park, aptly titled Assiniboine Park.
The next reference to a specific Constable was made on April 10, 1907, when the Parks Board appointed D. Sutherland as a Constable at a salary of $75.00/month. It is unknown if Mr. Morris remained on as a Constable, but it was apparent that D. Sutherland was responsible for policing both the City’s Parks and boulevards as half his salary was paid for by the Parks Committee and the other half by the Boulevard Committee.
Prior to 1909 there is no indication that the Parks Constable wore a uniform, however on May 12, 1909, the Board adopted a motion to provide the Constables with a uniform. As the motion was for Constables (plural), it is apparent that there was more than one employed (or considered for employment) by the Board.
On June 9, 1909 the Parks Board appointed D.G. White as the Parks Policeman for the expansive new Assiniboine Park. His salary was $50.00/month and included a house on the property for him to live in.
On May 11, 1910, the Parks Board authorized the purchase of a bicycle for Constable White to patrol the park, and the following year they increased his salary to $55.00/month. Also at this time, the Parks Board acquired the land that would become Kildonan Park from the Municipality of West Kildonan for the sum of $163,819.17. 
On May 3, 1911, the Board appointed A.J. McIvor as a Special Parks Constable for a limited term of 6 months at a salary of $75.00/month, and authorized the purchase of a bicycle for him to use as well. McIvor’s salary was higher than that of White’s as he did not get a house to live in.
The last reference made to D. Sutherland was on July 13, 1910, when the Board reinstated him as a Constable after suspending him for being absent without leave. The Board noted that Sutherland would be dismissed if it happened again. As Sutherland’s name is never mentioned again in the Minute Books or pay sheets, it appears that A.J. McIvor was hired on as a probationary officer to replace him as the Parks and Boulevard Constable.
By 1915 Constable White’s salary as the Assiniboine Park Constable had risen to $70.00/month (plus a house) and Constable McIvor, who was now a full time employee, received $80.00/month as a “Park Patrolman”. There were now 21 urban parks controlled by the Parks Board, including the newly opened Kildonan Park in the municipality of West Kildonan. To patrol these new parks and all the boulevards under the authority of the Parks Board, McIvor’s bicycle was replaced with a motorcycle.
On May 3, 1916, the Parks Board authorized the appointment of J. MacKay as a new Boulevard Constable at a salary of $75.00/month and it appears that A.J. McIvor became solely responsible for patrolling the Board’s urban parks, other than Assiniboine Park, which was still policed by Constable White.
By 1920 Constable White’s salary had increased to $110.00/month, while McIvor and MacKay now received $130.00/month for patrolling the urban parks and boulevards respectively. They worked six days a week and received two weeks of paid holidays a year. By comparison, Senior Constables with the Winnipeg Police Force were receiving only slightly more in pay at approximately $140.00/month.
On Wednesday, June 15, 1927, the Parks Police suffered its first and only death in the line of duty when Constable White died as a result of injuries he had received several days earlier. According to local newspaper reports, Constable White had been on patrol in Assiniboine Park during the evening of June 12, 1927, when a vehicle driven by W.H. Bell struck him.
On July 7, 1927, the Board appointed Henry Cake to succeed Mr. White as the Assiniboine Park Constable. He received a salary of $125.00/month, however there is no mention that he took over the house used by Mr. White. In fact, the Board’s expense accounts for 1928 show that his salary did not include the use of a house in the park.
In 1929 the Parks Board acquired a small parcel of land from the Municipality of St. James across the river from Assiniboine Park and in 1931 completed a footbridge across the river joining the two parks together. Also in 1929 the Parks Board purchased a large section of land along the Red River from the Municipality of St. Vital for development into St. Vital Park. The following year they purchased the land for Wildwood Park from the Rural Municipality of Ft. Garry. By now the City owned 1385 acres of parkland, only 295 of which was inside the City limits.
Due to the depression and the subsequent war years, the Parks Board did not greatly expand their holdings outside the City. However, by the 1960’s they began to develop new parks, such as King’s Park in the Rural Municipality of Ft. Garry.
In 1960 the Metropolitan Corporation of Winnipeg was formed to manage the various utilities where they used by all the regional governments (ie: water, transit, etc), and in 1961 the Metro Parks and Protection Division was created to look after the major regional parks previously controlled by the Parks Board. The Parks Police became a part of this new Division and their shoulder flashes were changed as a result.
Today, the Winnipeg Parks Police draw their authority from section 176(1) and (2) of the City of Winnipeg Charter, S.M. 2002, c. 39 which states that they are responsible for 'maintaining order and protecting public and private property in a park'. They are no longer responsible for patroling the City's boulevard's outside of these parks, however, with the additional parks and responsibilities that came with the unification of Metro Winnipeg in 1972, there is little time left for these 12 officers to patrol anything other than the major regional parks that today stretch from Little Mountain Park in the Rural Municipality of Rosser, to LaBarrier Park in the Rural Municipality of Ritchot, some 30 kilometers to the south.
Written by:
Constable John Burchill, Winnipeg Police
- Former Winnipeg Parks Police Officer #42
Dedicated to my friend:
Sgt. Peter Drewniak (1940-2001)
- Fort Gary Police Force (1964-1972)
- Winnipeg Parks Police (1978-2001)
Sources:
City of Winnipeg Archives, Parks Board Minute Books
Johnton, Bill. A/Sgt, Winnipeg Parks Police, personal communications
MacDonald, C. (1995). A City at Leisure: An Illustrated History of Parks and Recreation in Winnipeg 1893-1993. Winnipeg: City of Winnipeg Parks Department.
Winnipeg Centennial Library, Micro-media/Periodicals/Circulation, Newspaper Archives
Last update:
03.12.2010
