FIELD SERVICES 



The year under review was one in which the law enforcement training program 

 continued to develop. There are still some officers on our staff who can recall 

 earlier days when they were handed the "book" of the game and fish laws and told 

 to go out and enforce them. As a result of much higher standards of education and 

 enlightenment concerning civil rights, law enforcement is becoming more exacting. 

 More people challenge the authority of our conservation officers and the old time 

 standards are not good enough. 



The primary responsibility of a law enforcement officer is to prevent violations 

 by persuading sportsmen to observe the regulations which are made in their own 

 best interests. Enforcement then encompasses the stimulating task, on the one hand, 

 of explaining wildlife management and associated laws to those who are interested, 

 and on the other hand, the most unpleasant task of prosecuting violators. 



To insure the highest standards of law enforcement, and particularly where 

 judicial procedures are concerned, it was considered most desirable to have a fish 

 and wildlife representative of each of the twenty-two forest districts attend a four- 

 week course at the Ontario Police College. Those in attendance included super- 

 visors and assistant-supervisors and the group included both biologists and senior 

 conservation officers. The subject matter of the lectures included legal procedure, 

 evidence, arrest and those statutes covering judicial procedure such as The Canada 

 Evidence Act, The Ontario Evidence Act, appropriate portions of the Criminal 

 Code and The Summary Convictions Act (Ontario), with which law enforcement 

 officers should be quite familiar. Lectures on fish and wildlife regulations helped to 

 illustrate the principles enunciated by the Ontario Police College staff. 



Meanwhile, the field training program in law enforcement for field conserva- 

 tion officers was developed and a total of 114 officers received instructions from 

 the Department Law Enforcement Training Officer, in a series of nine courses. This 

 integrated training program is directed towards insuring a high standard of law 

 enforcement practice, so that the publicly owned natural resources will be fully 

 protected and utilized under the laws made for their management. It will help to 

 insure also that no person will be improperly charged or prosecuted for alleged 

 infractions of the laws. Courses for field officers were held at convenient points 

 throughout the Province, namely Achray, Nym Lake Chief Ranger Headquarters 

 and the Ontario Forest Ranger School at Dorset. 



The conservation officer staff which includes supervisors at District headquar- 

 ters, fisheries management officers, wildlife management officers and those whose 

 duties are almost entitrely in the field, numbered 251 establishments during the 

 year, although some 10 vacancies existed. 



The law enforcement program continued its general standard of efficiency with 

 some 2,236 convictions. The trend over a ten year period is as follows: 



1955-56 2,895 convictions 



1956-57 2,704 



1957-58 2,993 



1958-59 2,525 



1959-60 2,228 



1960-61 2,160 



1961-62 2,049 



1962-63 2,045 



1963-64 2,276 



1964-65 2,236 



Development of the law enforcement programme is also illustrated by the 

 following comparison: 



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