| VIA Rail Canada Police Service Service de police de VIA Rail Canada | |
|---|---|
 Heraldic Badge of the VRCPS | |
 Shoulder flash of the VRCPS | |
 Flag of the VRCPS | |
| Common name | VIA Rail Police |
| Abbreviation | VRCPS |
| Agency overview | |
| Formed | 2015 |
| Jurisdictional structure | |
| Operations jurisdiction | Canada |
| Legal jurisdiction | Federal |
| Constituting instrument |
|
| General nature | |
| Operational structure | |
| Headquarters | 3 Place Ville Marie, Suite 500 Montreal,Quebec |
| Elected officer responsible | |
| Parent agency | VIA Rail Canada Inc. |
| Website | |
| www | |
TheVIA Rail Canada Police Service (VRCPS) (French:Service de police de VIA Rail Canada (SPVRC)) is the federalrailway police service of the Canadianintercity passenger rail operator,VIA Rail Canada Inc.
The agency was formed in 2015 under theRailway Safety Act withPeter Lambrinakos becomingVIA Rail Canada’s first chief of police and chief of corporate security.[1] As a railway police service, the agency is under the purview of theDepartment of Transport Canada.
As indicated under Canada's federalRailway Safety Act, VIA Rail police constables are appointed by a judge of a superior court for the enforcement of the laws ofCanada or a province in so far as their enforcement relates to the protection of property owned, possessed or administered by VIA Rail Canada and for the protection of persons and property on their property.
VIA Rail Canada is mandated to operate intercity, regional and transcontinental trains linking over 400 communities across Canada.[2] The police constables have jurisdiction on property under the administration of VIA Rail Canada and in any place within 500 metres of property that VIA Rail Canada owns, possesses or administers.[3]
The VIA Rail Police deploy at VIA Rail passengertrain stations, along therights-of-way on which VIA Rail trains operate, and on board VIA Railtrains to prevent security incidents and to exercise response andcounterterrorism capabilities, including events such as the2013 Via Rail Canada terrorism plot.[4]
VIA Rail Police work closely with the other two federal railway police services, theCN Police andCPKC Police, as well as many local police services of jurisdiction throughout the country to respond and investigate both provincial and federal crimes, such as drug trafficking and human trafficking, and further assist with many missing persons investigations. They enforce all provincial acts on properties and roadways within their jurisdiction, including provincial liquor licence acts, trespass acts and highway traffic acts.
VIA Rail Police also undertake a collaborative approach with various law enforcement and community partners to educate the general public, including many young people at schools, on topics related to rail safety in an effort to reduce track-level incidents.
On March 20, 2015, Chiheb Esseghaier and Raed Jaser were sentenced to life in prison for conspiring to commit murder for a terrorist group following a conspiracy to derail a train route operated byAmtrak andVIA Rail Canada, known as theMaple Leaf, running betweenToronto andNew York City.[5]
The VIA Rail Police has its owncanine unit and deploysvapor wake dogs to alert their human police canine handlers to the presence of threats. Thesepolice dogs can quickly screen and track the trail of a scent through large crowds of people.[6] The canine unit was decommissioned in Dec 2024.