Peel Regional Police releases Annual Use of Force Report

Posted On Friday August 26, 2022

On Aug. 26, 2022, Peel Regional Police released results of the 2021 Use of Force Report.

Peel Regional Police and Professor Akwasi Owusu-Bempah presented a report at the Peel Police Services Board meeting that identified the following key findings:

  • Since 2020, there has been a 15.62 % decrease in the number of times a type of force was applied on a member of the public. In Black individuals, use of force applications have reduced by 21.68% and by 30.41% for South Asian.
  • The number of Peel Regional Police officers involved in use of force interactions has been decreased by 13.61%. In 2021, 400 officers were involved in use of force interactions versus 463 in 2020. Data also shows that the amount of force used in interactions was consistent across racial groups.
  • In 2021, de-escalation strategies were used as an alternative measure in 88% of incidents prior to force being used.
  • Less than 1% of interactions with a person in crisis involved use of force.

Peel Regional Police is committed to dismantling racial inequities within policing, to building trust and improving outcomes for communities through professionalism, understanding and compassion. By integrating and implementing a human rights-centred approach in all areas of service, Peel Regional Police is driving change and making momentum to achieving priorities. To date, Peel Regional Police has taken the following proactive measures in an effort to eliminate systemic racism:

  • In 2020, Peel Regional Police became the first policing service to commit to a historic partnership with the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) by signing a Memorandum of Understanding to action on recommendations.
  • Since 2020, Peel Regional Police has been collaborating with race-based subject matter experts to offer mandatory human rights-focused training on topics that include implicit bias and racial profiling.
  • Peel Regional Police officers have completed crisis de-escalation training for interactions with children under 12 years of age.
  • Body-worn cameras were fully implemented for all frontline officers in 2021 to record their interactions with the public during their duties. A significant component for the roll out of this project included 12,000 hours of training for over 1,000 officers.

The Government of Ontario directed all police services in the province in 2019 to collect race-based data in use of force incidents. To access the full 2021 Annual Use of Force report, please visit: https://www.peelpoliceboard.ca/en/board-meetings/reports.aspx

For further information and reference, please access the following documents:

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