Police intervention

Our goal during any interaction with the public is to de-escalate. We want to have a peaceful resolution, without using police intervention options. Our preferred intervention for any situation is communication, and we use it when it doesn't increase risk to the public and/or police. We will continue to use it and other methods of intervention when we need to protect the public and police officers.

We respond to an average of 2.8 million calls for service each year. Applications of intervention account for 1 in every 1,070 RCMP calls for service, or 0.1% of all calls for service. That means that we resolve 99.9% of occurrences naturally or with communication and de-escalation.

Police intervention initiatives

Examples of current and ongoing police intervention initiatives include:

  • Undertaking research and engaging key stakeholders, experts and employees to implement tools for the collection of disaggregated race-based data on police interactions with racialized and Indigenous peoples
    • This information will support an evidence-based assessment and update of RCMP policies, processes and practices to address systemic racism and other forms of discrimination
    • Learn more on the Vision150 Tracker
  • Developing mandatory training related to officer safety initiatives
  • Emphasizing crisis intervention and de-escalation techniques in training
  • Testing new safety and intervention equipment
  • Developing, testing and deploying less lethal intervention options
  • Launching a national dialogue with Canadian police chiefs to re-examine our current de-escalation framework
    • Developing a refreshed model in consultation with the policing community and specific groups, including those representing racialized people
  • Collecting and managing police intervention Subject Behavior/Officer Response (SBOR) reporting, including:
    • statistical analysis
    • quality assurance
    • evidence-based training/policy development based on information gathered from SBOR reports

The National Police Intervention Unit also helps in reviewing and implementing police intervention-related recommendations made by:

  • fatality inquiries
  • coroner's inquiries
  • internal and external reviews
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