Police intervention reporting
If an RCMP officer uses an intervention option, they must complete a police intervention report following the incident. This information is captured in a Subject Behaviour/Officer Response report. This report helps police officers clearly explain what happened during the incident, by capturing:
- environment
- situational factors
- what substances and weapons were present
- a description of the subject's behaviour and the officer's corresponding response
- injuries, if any, to the subject and the officer
- extent of medical treatment, if required
- a short description of how the event unfolded
Find out more about our police intervention reporting and other initiatives.
Mandatory in most circumstances
A Subject Behaviour/Officer Response report is mandatory for all members who apply or display:
- Physical control "hard"
Including takedowns and empty hand strikes such as punches and kicks. These techniques are intended to stop (or change) a subject's behaviour or allow the application of a control technique, and have a higher probability of causing injury to both parties.
- Use of weapons
Including intermediate weapons, firearms, police service dog, specialty weapons and/or other (weapon of opportunity).
- Physical control "soft" resulting in an injury to the subject, police officer or other person
Including takedowns and empty hand strikes such as punches and kicks. These techniques may be used to cause distraction to facilitate the application of a control technique.
Distraction techniques include, but are not limited to:
- open hand strikes
- pressure points
Control techniques include:
- escorting and/or come-along techniques
- joint locks
- nonresistant handcuffing
These techniques have a lower probability of causing injury to both parties.
What the report captures
Subject Behaviour/Officer Response reports capture both the draw and display, as well as the actual application of the intervention option. The data shows how often intervention options are "used" but not "applied" to demonstrate the frequency that intervention options are used as a deterrent to de-escalate a situation.
Reporting also provides statistical data on police interventions trends and frequency across the country. This allows us to review and use an evidence-based approach to updating policy, training and equipment, when needed.
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