Royal Canadian Gendarmerie

The Royal Canadian Gendarmerie (RCG; French: Gendarmerie royale canadienne, GRC) is the provost (military police) of the Canadian Armed Forces and the law enforcement agency of the Department of National Defence (DND). It is a real gendarmerie, in that its policing authority extends beyond the armed forces to the civilian realm, albeit rarely in the general public (usually only during large national events or major disasters) and only regularly concerning the civilian Department of National Defence. Nevertheless, the Royal Canadian Gendarmerie has been known to provide assistance to the federal/national civilian Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and Canada Sheriff Service during major investigations and operations, such as nationwide manhunts and counterterrorism operations. It answers directly to and is considered an agency of the Department of National Defence in wartime; in peacetime, all the civilian law enforcement corps, such as that for border patrol, instead answer to Public Security Canada. Provost corps remain answerable to the Department of National Defence during peacetime.