Militarization of Police
Date: June 17, 2020
Classification: Unclassified
Branch/Agency: RCMP
Issue: On June 16, 2020, Minister Blair was asked why funding is used for “militarizing our civilian police forces”, with mention of “weapons of war” being provided to the RCMP for policing of civilians, in reference to Tactical Armoured Vehicles.
Proposed Response:
- RCMP officers require the best safety equipment possible to uphold the law, protect people and protect themselves.
- It is also critically important for Canadians to feel protected by the police. It is paramount that employees, communities, partners and Canadians have trust and confidence in the RCMP.
- The RCMP is dedicated to establishing, maintaining and building relationships with communities and stakeholders.
- 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 intervention options or safety equipment such as Tactical Armoured Vehicles.
- 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, such as Tactical Armoured Vehicles, are subject to strict policies and guidelines.
- When the RCMP introduces any uniform and safety equipment modifications, it is critical that these options and tactics do not distance them from communities they protect and serve.
- The RCMP will continue to preserve the peace, protect life and property, and enforce the law, maintaining the use of intervention options as a last resort.
Background:
On June 16, 2020, Mr. Paul Manly, MP for Nanaimo-Ladysmith (Green), asked the Minister why funding is being used for the militarization of civilian police forces, with mention of “weapons of war” being provided to the RCMP for the policing of civilians, in reference to Tactical Armoured Vehicles.
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 behavior, the situational factors, tactical considerations and officers perceptions. After an incident, the model can also help a police officer articulate the factors he or she considered when choosing the appropriate intervention.
In 2006, RCMP senior executives gave direction that the RCMP Armoured Vehicle Program provide Tactical Armoured Vehicles (TAV) to all Emergency Response Teams (ERT) regardless of location. The specifications outlined by the RCMP TAV standards are strongly supported by research and testing. There have been numerous recommendations following several fatality inquiries stating that the RCMP should have TAVs accessible to ERTs, including the recommendations of the Galloway-Ostopovich Fatality Inquiry and Mayerthorpe Fatality Inquiry Report, which supported the RCMP’s acquisition of TAVs. TAVs provide an enhanced level of safety to the public and police officers. The applications of a TAV are numerous and include downed officer rescue, police officer tactical repositioning to cover, evacuation of public, high risk vehicle intercept, and a platform for de-escalation by providing two-way communication for negotiations, in addition to introducing less lethal methods of intervention to safely resolve violent incidents. Numerous police agencies throughout Canada have acquired TAVs, which have been successfully utilized to achieve safe resolutions during hundreds of deployments. It has become a best practice in the Canadian tactical operations policing environment, based upon mitigating risk and preventing loss of life.
Unlike in the United States, Canadian police agencies do not receive surplus military equipment such as the TAVs. The Canadian policing environment necessitates that the acquisition of such equipment go through an exhaustive consultative process with all stakeholders.
Furthermore, a Crisis Intervention De-Escalation course has been developed and is 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 safety 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-focussed 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 intervention options. 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: Konrad Roberts, A/Senior Policy Analyst, Contract and Indigenous Policing, RCMP – 343-542-2628
Approved by: Brian Brennan, Deputy Commissioner, Contract and Indigenous Policing, RCMP – 613 843-4632
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