DFO officers

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cote_b

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Just wondering if anyone knows what federal DFO Fisheries officers carry for sidearms. I saw one last week and I was just curious.

Thanks
 
Fisheries Officers of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO - a federal agency) all get their firearms training at the same place as the RCMP (Depot, in Regina) and they all carry the same sidearms as the RCMP - the Smith & Wesson 5946 - a stainless steel double-action-only pistol in 9mm.

I'm a criminal lawyer in Vancouver, and I've done a number of Fisheries Act trials (in Chilliwack, Abbotsford and Surrey) and I've had the opportunity to have this discussion with FOs a few times. By the way, FOs - to me at least - all seem to look more like school teachers than cops, and the average time on the job must be 20 years or more! It seems like good work if you can find it.

Conservation officers in BC (and every province) are a Provincial agency, created and governed by provincial law. In BC the COs carry the same sidearm that all municipal police + the Transit Police carry: the GLOCK 22 .40S&W. The only exception is the Vancouver Police (who always march to their own drummer anyway), who carry the SIG P226 DAK in .40S&W. Provincial law actually sets out the requirements for firearms and ammunition (s. 3):

http://www.canlii.org/en/bc/laws/regu/bc-reg-203-98/latest/bc-reg-203-98.html

Section 3(3) allows the Chief Constable to "authorize a member of his or her police force to carry, for a special purpose, a firearm and ammunition of a type other than that referred to in this section." - so, they could carry anything... if the Chief signs off on it. I've seen a female plain clothes member of the Abbotsford police carrying a GLOCK 26/27 before (presumably a 27, but who knows). I'm sure there are other quirks here and there.

In BC, the Sherrifs Service used to just have the old 5946's that came from the RCMP Auxillary Constable program when the NDP government disarmed the Aux. Constables (and then they all quit). But, those pistols haven't been made since 1999 and the Sheriffs Service continues to grow. Starting about 2 years ago I saw the odd Deputy here and there with a black S&W M&P... now, in some courthouses, it is like 50/50 M&P's vs. 5946. I figure eventually the old stainless warhorses will be retired. I've had the opportunity to try a few of them (RCMP and Sherrif) at the range over the years.... not a fan. The M&P is a lot easier to be accurate with. Presumably the Sheriff's M&Ps are 9mm (for ammo compatibility) but who knows.

Just to expand the discussion, there are a lot of Colt Canada C8 carbines in use by police in BC. Vancouver police ERT used to have MP5's, but it is all C8 now, and lots of patrol members have them in the trunks too. West Vancouver Police have (in at least some cars) a C8 carbine in a dashboard lock-up thing. That always looked pretty gangster to me.
 
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In the mid 2000's West Van bought a bunch of Ruger .223s for their members and after a short while the program got dumped with the weapons being stored with out further use. Not sure what happened to them after that.
 
ghostie said:
Fisheries Officers of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO - a federal agency) all get their firearms training at the same place as the RCMP (Depot, in Regina) and they all carry the same sidearms as the RCMP - the Smith & Wesson 5946 - a stainless steel double-action-only pistol in 9mm... FOs - to me at least - all seem to look more like school teachers than cops, and the average time on the job must be 20 years or more!
Click to expand...

Thanks for the clarification. A year or so ago I was up on the Mission pistol range with a couple of officers who I thought they said were DFO, and they had .40 Glocks but they may in fact have been Conservation. The woman officer up there that day had a S. African accent and it turned out she had been in the Johannesburg Police. Being a CO here must be like a walk in the park after that.

:) Stuart
 
DFO Fish Cops as mentioned use the same pistol as the RCMP, but theirs have the fisheries crest on them. They may also carry shotguns or rifles for bear defense. Most do it as it lets them be out on the water or in the bush a lot. DFO may offer then free accommodation depending on the posting. Pay is not great here are the pay grades:

GT-02: $44 621 to $50 438
GT-03: $49 901 to $56 582
GT-04: $56 224 to $63 925
 
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Were they in uniform? Because the difference in the uniforms is a dead give-away. Fisheries Officers, Canada-wide wear a uniform that is vaugely similar to an RCMP uniform, except insteady of blue pants with a yellow stripe, they wear green pants. The shirt is similar looking, except that usually you see RCMP with a blue vest, and FOs with a beige vest the same colour as the shirt (but not always). I believe the FO jacket is also green, and I think it says "Fisheries Officer" or something on the back (RCMP being blue with "Police" or something like that in yellow on the back)
http://www.theadvance.ca/media/photos/unis/2012/08/27/photo_2156930_resize.jpg

BC Conservation Officers look a whole lot like a municipal police officer in BC. Dark blue uniform. Dark blue vest.
http://www.docstoc.com/docs/91716529/Conservation-Officer-Service

There is also an even rarer bird called a Federal Wildlife Officer (Ministery of the Environment). Green uniform. Same pistol (the Federal government must have really made Smith & Wesson year(s) when then bought all those pistols).
http://ec.gc.ca/default.asp?lang=En&n=3A93E9E6-1

And, National Park Wardens also look similar... and they carry sidearms, although I think their pistol is an HK P2000 or something like that. Maybe someone can tell from this picture.
http://christianjstewart.zenfolio.com/people/h348D1007#h348d1007
 
Colin said:
DFO Fish Cops as mentioned use the same pistol as the RCMP, but theirs have the fisheries crest on them. They may also carry shotguns or rifles for bear defense. Most do it as it lets them be out on the water or in the bush a lot. DFO may offer then free accommodation depending on the posting. Pay is not great here are the pay grades:

GT-02: $44 621 to $50 438
GT-03: $49 901 to $56 582
GT-04: $56 224 to $63 925
Click to expand...

That's interesting. I have a friend who is a chief of a volunteer FD, and one of his men is a Fisheries Officer in his day job. I could have sworn he said the guy carried a Glock. I'll have to check with him to clarify.
 
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