RCMP Occurrence Report - January 2010 to August 2020

The RCMP makes every effort to ensure the data included in this report is complete, accurate and up-to-date. Amendments are made as new information becomes available.

To promote trust, transparency, and accountability for the Canadian public, the RCMP is committed to open, proactive and routine disclosure of police information.

This report includes the number of occurrences, by province and territory, entered into the RCMP's Records Management Systems (RMS) for the past 10 years, except British Columbia (BC) where available data goes back two years.

An occurrence can be any type of police-related event or activity that is entered into police records management systems. It could be generated from a call for service or something that is self-generated by a police officer, such as a traffic stop.

This report also includes mental health and well-being check occurrences. It is important to note that mental health legislation is established by provinces and territories. Laws, regulations, procedures and reporting requirements vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. For this reason, the availability of mental health and well-being check occurrence data varies.

The RCMP provides frontline (contract) policing services to all provinces and territories, except Ontario and Quebec. The data in this report includes mental health-related occurrences in Ontario and Quebec, including the National Capital Region, where the RCMP has a federal policing mandate.

Note

Provincial, Territorial and regional reporting of RCMP occurrences may include specific regional codes. Due to these differing methodologies, National RCMP occurrence reporting may differ from local reporting.

Overall count of RCMP occurrences from 2010 - 2020 (year to date)

Figure 1 - Count of RCMP occurrences by province/territory and yearFigure 1 note 1

For more detailed information regarding this figure, please go to the text version of Figure 1 below.

Figure 1 - Text version

Province or territory Year
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018Figure 1 note 2 2019 2020Figure 1 note 3
Newfoundland & Labrador 57,373 55,717 55,456 53,872 54,365 56,366 59,788 57,667 56,910 57,458 40,395
Prince Edward Island 17,055 17,171 17,311 16,173 15,814 15,064 16,812 17,054 18,073 18,249 12,260
Nova ScotiaFigure 1 note 4 136,754 125,511 120,279 138,255 144,331 142,290 145,576 142,520 143,027 145,194 89,939
New Brunswick 117,868 110,297 109,220 105,023 98,823 101,760 110,785 120,933 123,956 124,576 95,307
Quebec 14,237 13,695 13,252 13,686 9,846 8,429 7,993 14,347 14,930 12,984 6,178
OntarioFigure 1 note 5 31,487 30,754 30,112 26,387 24,758 23,991 25,611 26,596 29,173 25,631 10,485
Manitoba 181,413 184,345 180,884 180,940 172,336 189,640 204,771 203,612 199,570 203,730 139,651
SaskatchewanFigure 1 note 6 224,309 237,703 243,851 240,138 242,268 270,259 278,936 284,864 294,398 322,799 214,342
Alberta 611,459 635,457 650,580 644,947 639,452 638,147 623,659 650,080 797,798 805,302 481,391
British ColumbiaFigure 1 note 7 no data no data no data no data no data no data no data no data 1,222,319 1,260,995 822,559
Yukon 19,303 19,537 19,486 21,065 21,876 22,185 22,496 21,992 23,032 24,140 16,387
Northwest Territories 40,235 41,694 41,591 39,912 38,938 39,671 36,690 36,053 37,107 39,513 28,555
Nunavut 21,527 22,566 23,764 21,308 21,075 21,949 23,082 23,353 27,032 30,116 22,260

Count of RCMP well-being check occurrences from 2016-2020

Figure 2 - Count of RCMPFigure 2 note 1 wellbeing checkFigure 2 note 2 occurrences by province/territory and year

For more detailed information regarding this figure, please go to the text version of Figure 2 below.

Figure 2 - Text version

Province or territory Year
2016 2017 2018 2019 2020Figruer 3
Newfoundland & Labrador 375 453 547 574 501
Prince Edward Island 175 233 392 448 250
Nova ScotiaFigure 2 note 4 1,020 1,587 1,711 2,160 1,836
New Brunswick 1,645 2,688 2,167 2,343 1,712
Quebec 79 125 161 227 79
OntarioFigure 2 note 5 77 141 379 328 140
Manitoba 1,218 1,865 2,313 2,999 2,372
SaskatchewanFigure 2 note 6 1,485 2,045 2,953 3,546 2,929
Alberta 5,159 7,972 9,846 12,144 10,344
British ColumbiaFigure 2 note 7 no data no data no data no data 30,276
Yukon 591 642 914 933 817
Northwest Territories 410 617 781 1,002 796
Nunavut 380 540 955 1,310 894

Count of RCMP Mental Health Act occurrences from 2010-2020

Figure 3 - Count of RCMPFigure 3 note 1 Mental Health ActFigure 3 note 2 occurrences by province/territory and year

For more detailed information regarding this figure, please go to the text version of Figure 3 below.

Figure 3 - Text version

Province or territory Year
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014Figure 3 note 3 2015 2016 2017 2018Figure 3 note 4 2019 2020Figure 3 note 5
Newfoundland & Labrador 1,676 1,808 1,798 1,877 2,148 2,313 2,464 2,711 2,854 3,140 2,411
Prince Edward Island 374 412 461 471 464 464 550 692 874 854 488
Nova ScotiaFigure 3 note 6 2,846 2,803 2,870 2,608 3,339 3,987 4,817 5,957 5,876 5,674 3,764
New Brunswick 3,298 3,210 3,598 3,666 3,939 4,534 4,568 4,959 5,776 6,175 3,960
Quebec 33 66 53 115 95 83 94 66 41 39 43
OntarioFigure 3 note 7 77 66 113 131 121 194 207 283 300 192 64
Manitoba 4,512 4,912 5,433 5,799 5,586 6,110 6,916 7,321 6,877 7,185 5,458
SaskatchewanFigure 3 note 8 3,819 4,272 4,502 4,498 5,117 5,758 6,510 7,517 7,541 8,156 6,609
Alberta 10,466 11,735 12,931 13,974 15,525 16,766 17,345 18,883 20,254 20,684 15,470
British ColumbiaFigure 3 note 9 no data no data no data no data no data no data no data no data 63,787 65,849 46,705
Yukon 476 466 476 482 504 613 731 716 695 1,000 724
Northwest Territories 835 886 1,042 1,003 1,059 1,209 1,148 1,138 1,355 1,550 1,052
Nunavut 1,255 1,425 1,579 1,509 1,458 1,520 1,864 1,667 2,093 2,512 1,712

Responding to people in crisis

When it comes to mental health occurrences, this data does not represent all RCMP interactions with individuals suffering from mental illness. Some occurrences may be filed as an assault, a weapons complaint, a suspicious occurrence, or noise complaint as a result of someone shouting, for example. The language used by complainants, witnesses, family members, or the subject of the complaint varies. For these reasons, not all incidences of mental health-related calls for service may be captured in police RMS as mental health-related.

Well-being checks include various checks not related to mental health. Well-being checks may include requests to physically confirm the well-being of a loved one who is not responding or unreachable.

The RCMP, like other police agencies, is very supportive of a collaborative approach for people in crisis, and for individuals experiencing symptoms of distress or addiction. Some communities across Canada have mobile mental health support and outreach services, typically in the form of a psychiatric nurse. In areas where a joint mental health response is available, and when situational factors permit, national RCMP policy guidance states that RCMP officers should consult with mental health personnel first. The establishment of such joint mental health responses is contingent on resources and support from provincial and municipal health services. Mobile mental health resources are not available in all jurisdictions, leaving RCMP members to deal with these calls unsupported in the vast majority of cases.

All occurrences, whether known to be mental health-related or not, are responded to with the same training and caution. There is no such thing as a "routine call."

In many parts of Canada, police officers are often the first responders on scene when someone is experiencing a mental health crisis. Police have a critical role to play when responding and interacting with a person with a mental illness or a person in crisis.

Police officers are not medical professionals and cannot diagnose individuals. However, it is important for the police to have an understanding of mental illnesses, including the signs and symptoms of distress, in order to conduct effective risk assessments and de-escalate a mental health crisis, whenever it is tactically feasible.

Addressing the mental health needs of individuals and communities requires empathy, patience, and awareness on the part of first responders. Through crisis intervention and de-escalation techniques, many mental health crises can be managed with decreased risk to the public and police officers.

Read more about the RCMP engaging the Canadian police community in developing a de-escalation framework for police officers.

Ensuring RCMP officers are properly trained to serve all people with dignity and respect is a priority. Training and development of all of our officers start with the Cadet Training Program (CTP) at the RCMP Academy, Depot Division, and continues throughout their RCMP career on an ongoing basis.

The RCMP has strengthened crisis intervention and de-escalation training for all its officers. Since 2016 an online training course on crisis intervention and de-escalation has been mandatory for all RCMP officers. The course takes approximately three hours and is available through the RCMP's E-learning portal. The course includes a module on some of the major mental illnesses and their observable behaviours, which can assist police officers in tailoring their approach to the person in crisis. This mandatory training helps police officers determine when and how to use crisis intervention and de-escalation techniques and complements what cadets learn at Depot as well as other training offered in RCMP divisions and detachments.

Starting in 2021, crisis intervention and de-escalation training is scheduled to be incorporated into annual Incident Management Intervention Model (IMIM) training. Scenarios involving crisis intervention and de-escalation training are in place as a part of regular operational skills maintenance training.

An online Suicide Prevention and Awareness course is available to all employees on the RCMP Intranet. It teaches the factors associated with suicide, crisis intervention techniques, and the importance of seeking help, or supporting others to do so, when they are living with mental health issues that are having a negative impact on their well-being.

In addition, the two-day Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training is mandatory for employees who are in positions where they are likely to encounter individuals living with serious mental stress.

Police intervention training and procedures

The RCMP recognizes that even in situations where crisis intervention and de-escalation techniques can be used, police intervention may still be required.

The IMIM is the framework used by RCMP officers to assess and manage risk in all encounters with the public — whether it's verbal de-escalation, or the use of an intervention option. You can learn more about IMIM training and read our 2010-2019 Police Intervention Options Report.

Understanding more about RCMP Records Management Systems and data limitations

The RCMP uses three RMS to capture and track occurrences. The PROS is used in all RCMP jurisdictions except BC and the Halifax Regional Municipality. In British Columbia, the RCMP uses PRIME, Halifax District RCMP is integrated with Halifax Regional Police and uses Versadex, while remaining RCMP jurisdictions use PROS.

PROS, PRIME, and Versadex each have a unique methodology for counting occurrences, which makes it difficult to compare data between them. For example, well-being check occurrences have been available in PROS since 2016, but have only been available in PRIME since January 2020.

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