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British Columbia Provincial Police records.
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- Source of title proper: Title based on the content of the series.
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Physical description
22 cm of textual records.
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Administrative history
The British Columbia Provincial Police (BCPP) force was established in 1858 in New Westminster, then the capital of the mainland colony. The force was initially led by a lone constable, Mr. Chartres Brew from Ireland. In 1866 the police force on Vancouver Island was combined with the police force on the mainland, as the two colonies were united. The force existed through the first half of the 20th century before amalgamating with the RCMP in 1950.
Custodial history
Scope and content
Series consists of four bound volumes of documents originating from the British Columbia Provincial Police (specifically the New Westminster
headquarters):
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General orders #1-390, 1923-1950: Two ledgers of memorandums circulated to the various district headquarters of the BCPP announcing changes in procedure, law, and policy and announcing personnel changes such as promotions, dismissals, reassignments, and deaths in the force. An index exists for general orders 1 through 271, bound in volume 2.
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Nominal roll and seniority list, 1926-1950: One ledger of nominal rolls, giving names and registration numbers of police officers and other personnel, organized by divisions and districts. Also contains seniority lists, which lists the names and registration numbers of personnel in all districts organized by hierarchy. Updates were sent to the various districts periodically.
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War circulars, volumes 1-8, 1939-1946: One ledger of circulars issued during World War II, giving special changes to procedure or reporting on relevant changes in law or orders in council which would affect policing during the war. Issues include fire arms possession and registration, status of First Nations people in the forces, rationing and oil supplies, and the registration of “enemy aliens.”
Notes area
Physical condition
Due to the fragile nature of these documents, all must be handled with extreme care. Be particularly gentle with the edges of the documents.
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Due to the binding, reproduction is only possible by use of digital camera.
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Associated materials
Records of the British Columbia Provincial Police exist in the holdings of several archival institutions in the province. They can be found by searching for “Provincial Police” at http://memorybc.ca.
Rare Books and Special Collections holds records of the BCPP Port Essington office (http://www.library.ubc.ca/spcoll/AZ/inventories/rescolb.html#BC%20PPEO).