Police Intervention and Use of Chemical Munitions
Date: June 11, 2020
Classification: Unclassified
Fully releasable (ATIP)? Yes
Branch / Agency: RCMP – C&IP
Issue:
To provide information on RCMP policies and practices surrounding police intervention and the use of Chemical Munitions.
Proposed Response:
- It is critically important for Canadians to feel protected by the police, and absolutely paramount that employees, communities, partners and Canadians have trust and confidence in the RCMP.
- The primary role of the RCMP in any demonstration or assembly is to preserve the peace, protect life and property, and enforce the law. This includes protecting protestors’ rights to peaceful, lawful and safe demonstration as guaranteed under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The RCMP also has a responsibility to ensure the general public and businesses have a right to a safe environment.
- The level of police intervention that is applied in any situation is done so in the context of a careful risk assessment that accounts for the likelihood and extent of potential injury and damage to property.
- Most occurrences can be resolved through dialogue, which is why crisis intervention and de-escalation training is mandatory for all RCMP officers. However occasionally, police intervention may be necessary, including the potential use of various safety equipment or intervention options, such as chemical munitions.
- The RCMP will use only the level of intervention necessary to ensure the safety of all citizens and to maintain peace, order and security, and any intervention and use of related safety equipment, are subject to strict policies and guidelines.
- The RCMP will continue to preserve the peace, protect life and property, and enforce the law, maintaining the use intervention options as a last resort.
Background:
Incidents involving police intervention are complex, dynamic and constantly evolving, oftentimes in a highly-charged atmosphere. Police officers must make split-second decisions when it comes to using interventions. For this reason, the Incident Management Intervention Model (IMIM) is introduced in the second week at the RCMP’s Training Academy, Depot, and then integrated into all other relevant aspects of training for the remaining 24 weeks. After leaving Depot, annual IMIM re-certification is mandatory for all regular members.
The IMIM assists with training members to consider all intervention options, and outlines the various levels of options available, based on that individual officers’ risk assessment. The risk assessment process takes into account subject behaviour, situational factors, tactical considerations and the officer’s perception. Situational factors vary widely, but may include: weather conditions, location, number of subjects and presence of weapons. These are all taken into account to appropriately determine what action(s) to take.
IMIM training promotes continuous risk assessment based on all risk factors of the; the subject’s behaviour, the situational factors, tactical considerations and officers perceptions. After an incident, the model can also help a police officer articulate the factors they considered when choosing the appropriate intervention.
A chemical agent munition is an intermediate device and may be used against a resistant or combative crowd according to the IMIM.
Chemical agent munitions and irritants may only be deployed by personnel who complete a Basic Chemical Weapons User Course, and according to the appropriate course training standards.
The Basic Chemical Weapons User Course covers all munitions, handling, deployment, storage, transportation, use, training and emergency procedures, crowd dynamics and the psychological aspects of the use of CS Munitions, and First aid procedures.
If the situation is such that it is judged necessary to use chemical munitions to disperse a crowd, the troop commander/delegate must, unless there are exigent circumstances:
- warn the crowd to disperse;
- after the warning, give the crowd time to comply unless exigent circumstances prevent otherwise; and
- ensure that an evacuation or egress route is available to the crowd.
The RCMP has not deployed Chemical Munitions of any type in a public order setting since the Vancouver Riots of 2011.
Furthermore, since 2016, a Crisis Intervention De-Escalation (CID) course has been mandatory for all police officers. The course provides a deeper understanding of conflict and how de-escalation skills are critical to police work with communities. This de-escalation training helps police officers assess risk in crisis situations, and de-escalate these situations more effectively and safely.
The RCMP continually reviews its policies, procedures, training and equipment to ensure it is using the most effective practices in law enforcement. The RCMP’s approach in responding to protests has evolved significantly and it is moving away from enforcement-focused policing toward a measured and intelligence-led approach using community conflict management principles.
The RCMP has an Operational Framework to Address Large Scale Protests. The framework encourages officers to prevent and resolve conflict, accommodate and respect differences and interests, and strategize to minimize the need for use of force.
In support of this framework, the RCMP has developed Community Conflict Management Group (CCMG) training that is available to RCMP employees and other law enforcement agencies. CCMG training teaches interest-based communication skills, strategic thinking, and relationship-building techniques to facilitate the timely resolution of conflicts. CCMG-trained police officers use relationship-building techniques, emphasizing proactive engagement to establish trust, respect and accommodation of the positions and interests of all parties.
Contacts:
Prepared by:
Approved by: Brian Brennan, Deputy Commissioner, Contract and Indigenous Policing, RCMP – 613-843-4632
- Date modified: