RCMP Occurrence Report - 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, like stopping a driver they believe is impaired.

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 where the RCMP only has a Federal Policing mandate. The data in this report includes RCMP occurrences in Ontario and Quebec, including the National Capital Region.

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 - 2020

Figure 1 - RCMP count of occurrences, 2010 to 2020

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

Figure 1 - Text version

Province/Territory RCMPFigure 1 footnote 1 count of occurrences
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Newfoundland & Labrador 57,373 55,717 55,456 53,872 54,365 56,366 59,788 57,667 56,910 57,383 61,012
Prince Edward Island 17,055 17,171 17,311 16,173 15,814 15,064 16,812 17,054 18,073 18,106 18,632
Nova ScotiaFigure 1 footnote 2 136,754 125,511 120,279 138,255 144,331 142,290 145,576 142,520 143,027 144,626 136,458
New Brunswick 117,868 110,297 109,220 105,023 98,823 101,760 110,785 120,933 123,956 124,422 151,822
QuebecFigure 1 footnote 3 14,237 13,695 13,252 13,686 9,846 8,429 7,993 14,347 14,930 13,101 10,892
OntarioFigure 1 footnote 3Figure 1 footnote 4 31,487 30,754 30,112 26,387 24,758 23,991 25,611 26,596 29,173 25,789 17,737
Manitoba 181,413 184,345 180,884 180,940 172,336 189,640 204,771 203,612 199,570 202,315 203,522
SaskatchewanFigure 1 footnote 5 224,309 237,703 243,851 240,138 242,268 270,259 278,936 284,864 294,398 321,541 322,331
Alberta 611,459 635,457 650,580 644,947 639,452 638,147 623,659 650,080 797,798 803,019 720,451
British ColumbiaFigure 1 footnote 6 no data no data no data no data no data no data no data no data 1,222,319 1,261,309 1,221,350
Yukon 19,303 19,537 19,486 21,065 21,876 22,185 22,496 21,992 23,032 24,081 23,981
Northwest Territories 40,235 41,694 41,591 39,912 38,938 39,671 36,690 36,053 37,107 39,511 43,362
Nunavut 21,527 22,566 23,764 21,308 21,075 21,949 23,082 23,353 27,032 30,148 33,124
Data source and extract date information

Count of RCMP well-being check occurrences - 2020

Figure 2 - RCMP wellbeing check occurrences, 2016 to 2020

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

Figure 2 - Text version

Province/Territory RCMPFigure 2 footnote 1 wellbeing checkFigure 2 footnote 2 occurrences
2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Newfoundland & Labrador 375 453 547 565 806
Prince Edward Island 175 233 392 443 349
Nova ScotiaFigure 2 footnote 3 1,020 1,587 1,711 2,174 2,735
New Brunswick 1,645 2,688 2,167 2,313 2,604
QuebecFigure 2 footnote 4 79 125 161 227 140
OntarioFigure 2 footnote 4Figure 2 footnote 5 77 141 379 328 210
Manitoba 1,218 1,865 2,313 2,972 3,581
SaskatchewanFigure 2 footnote 6 1,485 2,045 2,953 3,508 4,484
Alberta 5,159 7,972 9,846 12,029 15,433
British ColumbiaFigure 2 footnote 7 no data no data no data no data 47,128
Yukon 591 642 914 920 1,272
Northwest Territories 410 617 781 991 1,264
Nunavut 380 540 955 1,314 1,384
Data source and extract date information

Count of RCMP Mental Health Act occurrences - 2020

Figure 3 - RCMP mental health-related occurrences, 2010 to 2020

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

Figure 3 - Text version

Province/Territory RCMPFigure 3 footnote 1 mental health-relatedFigure 3 footnote 2 occurrences
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Newfoundland & Labrador 1,676 1,808 1,798 1,877 2,148 2,313 2,464 2,711 2,854 3,168 3,773
Prince Edward Island 374 412 461 471 464 464 550 692 874 871 751
Nova ScotiaFigure 3 footnote 3 2,846 2,803 2,870 2,608 3,339 3,987 4,817 5,957 5,876 5,721 5,977
New Brunswick 3,298 3,210 3,598 3,666 3,939 4,534 4,568 4,959 5,776 6,187 6,058
QuebecFigure 3 footnote 4 33 66 53 115 95 83 94 66 41 39 62
OntarioFigure 3 footnote 4Figure 3 footnote 5 77 66 113 131 121 194 207 283 300 192 115
Manitoba 4,512 4,912 5,433 5,799 5,586 6,110 6,916 7,321 6,877 7,181 8,077
SaskatchewanFigure 3 footnote 6 3,819 4,272 4,502 4,498 5,117 5,758 6,510 7,517 7,541 8,170 10,043
Alberta 10,466 11,735 12,931 13,974 15,525 16,766 17,345 18,883 20,254 20,710 23,337
British ColumbiaFigure 3 footnote 7 no data no data no data no data no data no data no data no data 63,787 65,967 69,812
Yukon 476 466 476 482 504 613 731 716 695 1,001 1,063
Northwest Territories 835 886 1,042 1,003 1,059 1,209 1,148 1,138 1,355 1,554 1,584
Nunavut 1,255 1,425 1,579 1,509 1,458 1,520 1,864 1,667 2,093 2,519 2,652
Data source and extract date information

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. For example, some occurrences may be filed as an assault, a weapons complaint, a suspicious occurrence, or noise complaint as a result of someone shouting. The language used by complainants, witnesses, family members, or the subject of the complaint varies. Therefore, 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.

Crisis Intervention and De-escalation Training

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.

Since April 2021, crisis intervention and de-escalation training is now incorporated into annual IMIM re-certification training. Scenarios involving crisis intervention and de-escalation training are also in place as a part of regular, in-person, 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 Incident Management Intervention Model (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 2020 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 British Columbia 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; comparisons between RMS are not recommended.

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