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Backgrounder
The Canadian Forces National Investigation Service
CFNIS/SNEFC 2008-01 - December 12, 2008
An independent investigative capability is essential for the truly fair and impartial administration of military justice. The Canadian Forces National Investigation Service (CFNIS), an independent Military Police unit, provides that capability.
Mission
To contribute to the maintenance of operationally ready, combat-capable forces by providing professional, timely and independent police investigative services to the Department of National Defence (DND), the Canadian Forces (CF) and the communities served at home and around the world.
Mandate
To investigate serious and sensitive matters in relation to National Defence property, DND employees and CF personnel serving in Canada and abroad. The CFNIS has authority and jurisdiction over persons subject to the Code of Service Discipline, wherever Canadian Forces are established or deployed throughout the world, regardless of rank or status.
Command and control
The Commanding Officer of the CFNIS reports directly to the Canadian Forces Provost Marshal.
Regardless of the circumstance or environment, the members of the CFNIS remain under his command. The independence that results from this command relationship enables the CFNIS to conduct thorough investigations without fear of influence from any command element.
Organization
The unit is comprised of seven permanent detachments:
- Pacific Region, based in Victoria, with responsibility for the Province of British Columbia;
- Western Region, based in Edmonton, with responsibility for Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, the Northwest Territories and the Yukon;
- Borden Detachment, based in Borden, with responsibility for the Western portion of Ontario;
- Central Region, based in Ottawa, with responsibility for the Eastern portion of Ontario;
- Eastern Region, based in Valcartier, with responsibility for the province of Quebec and Nunavut;
- Atlantic Region, based in Halifax, with responsibility for the four Atlantic provinces; and
- the Support Detachment.
The Support Detachment, based in Ottawa, consists of the Surveillance Team, the National Drug Enforcement Team, the Criminal Intelligence Section and Integrated Technological Crime Unit and the Polygraph Section. The Support Detachment provides support in these fields to all regional CFNIS detachments as well as the CF Military Police as a whole. On a major CF deployment, a detachment of the CFNIS may be established on a temporary basis. Currently, the Joint-Task Force Afghanistan Detachment, based at Kandahar Air Field, has responsibility for the JTF Afghanistan Area of Operations.
Although they are located on military bases/wings, CFNIS personnel work independently from the normal military chain of command. Through their Commanding Officer, they receive direction and report directly to the CF Provost Marshal.
Operations and services
Usually, requests for CFNIS involvement come through regular Military Police organizations, but CF members and DND employees can lay complaints, or communicate directly with regional offices or individual CFNIS members.
Charges, through either civilian or military courts, can follow investigations that fall within the CFNIS mandate. Investigators receive dedicated, independent advice from military prosecutors throughout the course of their investigations.
Military Police investigators from the CFNIS work in close cooperation with other Military Police units and civilian law-enforcement agencies. Other countries with an independent military investigative capability include the United States and France.
Selection
Members of the CFNIS are selected from fully trained, experienced Military Police members who have completed various Military Police training and worked for at least one tour of duty as a Military Police in a Base or Wing before applying to become an investigator with the CFNIS. After selection, they are submitted to specialized training depending on their positions and also have to complete a one-year internship before operating as a full fledged investigator.
Training
CFNIS Indoctrination Course: This course is designed to provide new members of the CFNIS with a detailed understanding of the full spectrum of CFNIS operations including all associated internal specialty services. Subjects covered during this course include:
• Military Police investigation policy;
• Major case and file management;
• Interview and interrogation techniques;
• Investigations in deployed environments;
• Ethics; and
• Duty with honour.
General Investigation Training: All new members of the CFNIS undergo the Military Police Investigations Course at the Canadian Forces Military Police Academy (CFMPA). During this course the students are taught specialist skills such as crime scene processing, investigation planning, writing of search warrants and planning and conducting interviews. This training includes an intensive final crime scene processing examination. After completion of this course all CFNIS members undergo a one-year “internship” program where they are expected to hone their practical investigative skills under the guidance of an experienced CFNIS member. CFNIS members also attend numerous specialty investigation courses at other training facilities, such as the Canadian Police College, where they undergo instruction on a vast array of subjects such as major case management, drug investigation techniques, forensic interviewing, forensic identification, sexual assault investigations and many others.
Professional development for CFNIS members is continuous since they are expected to maintain currency in order to provide the best service possible.
Specialized Training : Members of the CFNIS undergo specialized training depending on their positions, in areas like major case management, sexual assault investigations, major crimes techniques, fraud investigations, sudden death investigations, forensics interviewing, arson basic investigations and computer forensics to name a few.
Secondments to Civilian Police
Members of the CFNIS sometimes fill seconded positions with other law enforcement agencies across the country. Some examples of secondments include: Halifax Regional Integrated Major Crimes Unit, Sûreté du Québec Major Crimes, Criminal Intelligence Service Canada (Ottawa), and RCMP in various divisions. The experience gained to date with these secondments has proven invaluable in the continued professional development of CF Military Police personnel and continues to strengthen intimate ties with local civilian policing partners.
The CFNIS has a seconded position for a RCMP Inspector within its organization.
History
The CFNIS was established in 1997 with a mandate to investigate serious and sensitive matters related to DND and the CF. It performs a function similar to that of a Major Crime unit of the RCMP or large municipal police agency. The CFNIS was created to address lessons learned through experiences in Somalia, the Former Republic of Yugoslavia and on other difficult deployed missions. The creation of the CFNIS also fulfilled recommendations made by the Dickson and Belzile commissions that the Military Justice System required an investigative agency that was independent of the chain of command.
The CFNIS has maintained a presence in every major CF deployment since 1997. The CFNIS has repeatedly demonstrated the value of their independence, investigative expertise, and ability to function under the most austere conditions.
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