On Duty in the Place: The Diary of an Outport Constable

For decades the towns of Newfoundland's North East Coast - Fogo, Tilting, Change Islands, Twillingate and others - were patrolled and protected by members of the Newfoundland Constabulary. Its modern incarnation, the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary, is often thought of as simply a "metro" force, based in Newfoundland & Labrador's larger population centres such as St. John's, Corner Brook and Labrador City-Wabush. The Constabulary's long-standing and essential function as an outport police force has largely been forgotten, even as we (rightly) celebrate the Newfoundland Ranger Force for a similar contribution to rural law enforcement in Newfoundland during the 1930s and 40s. This work presents the official diaries of three Constables stationed in the important fishing outport of Fogo, the largest community on its namesake island, from 1904-38. Edited, with an introduction and informational footnotes, by Dr. David Clarke, the diaries give a rare insight into the day to day activities of those officers who kept the peace at Fogo, and in nearby settlements like Joe Batt's Arm, Seldom-Come-By and Musgrave Harbour, in the early years of the 20th Century. In presenting them, it is hoped that readers will gain a new appreciation of the vital role the Newfoundland Constabulary played in rural policing in pre-Confederation Newfoundland.