RCMP contract policing is the arrangement where municipalities pay for Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers to provide local police services rather than operating their own municipal police force. This model is common across Western Canada, Atlantic Canada, and the territories. Municipalities contract through their provincial government, which holds the master agreement with the federal government. Contract municipalities receive RCMP officers who wear RCMP uniforms but serve as their local police. The arrangement provides professional policing to communities that couldn't afford full municipal forces, though some municipalities debate whether local police would be more responsive to community priorities than a national force.