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Career Overview
Bylaw enforcement officers are responsible for enforcing the bylaws of a municipality. They may also be appointed as special constables to enforce certain regional statutes in their municipality.
Bylaw enforcement officers’ work varies widely from one municipality to another. In smaller areas, a bylaw enforcement officer may look after a range of bylaws. These could include traffic control, parking, animal control, business licensing, and weed control. In larger centres, they may specialize in enforcing specific bylaws.
Responsibilities
- Conduct inspections and respond to complaints from citizens and businesses
- Encourage people to comply with bylaws by communicating with them
- Interpret municipal bylaws and provincial and federal regulations
- Explain legislation to the public, city administration, and other agencies
- Issue orders to correct problems, such as unsightly properties
- Fix problems when orders are not followed by arranging for work to be done and billed to the property owner
- Issue violations, traffic tags, or summonses and subpoenas, and prepare related legal documents
- Keep records
- Use specialized equipment related to specific bylaws (for example, weights and measures, noise level instruments, autosamplers for taking chemical samples)
- Investigate bylaw offences to prepare for enforcement through the courts
- Appear in court and give testimony related to cases of bylaw offences
- Work with other enforcement agencies, including peace officers and police officers.
Career Prospects
A Bylaw Enforcement Officer is usually an employee of a municipality or regional district that performs administrative, inspectional and regulatory work to enforce bylaws relating to property use, buildings, parking, business regulations, animal control, zoning, noise, sign, etc.
Candidates can expect to earn $25+ per hour and enjoy working both inside and outside of the office.
Bylaw enforcement officers may work evenings and weekends. Other working conditions vary depending on which bylaws they enforce. For example, bylaw enforcement officers may have to deal with hazardous goods or aggressive animals. In some circumstances, they are required to lift items weighing over 20 kilograms.
Most employers prefer to hire bylaw enforcement officers who have a related post-secondary diploma or degree.
Personal Qualifications
- Good judgment
- Communication skills
- Conflict resolution skills
- Observation and problem-solving skills
- An ability to think quickly
- Self-motivation
- The ability to deal with sensitive issues.
Minimum Requirements
Most employers prefer to hire bylaw enforcement officers who have a related post-secondary diploma or have completed the JIBC Bylaw courses.
Before enrolling in a post-secondary program, prospective bylaw enforcement officers should discuss their education options with potential employers.
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