PRP officers continue de-escalation, harm reduction techniques in use of force interactions

Posted On Friday September 27, 2024

Region of Peel – Peel Regional Police presented the Committed to Action: 2023 Progress Report: Human Rights and Use of Force to the Peel Police Service Board today. The report demonstrates officers continuing to use strategies and training implemented through the Human Rights Project to ensure the safest interactions between police and the public during calls for service.

The use of force data, presented alongside University of Toronto Professor Akwasi Owusu-Bempah, includes an analysis of race and identity-based data and other findings outlined below. To access the full report, view here.

REPORT HIGHLIGHTS:

  • Initiation of a service-wide review of over 300 internal directives to align with Ontario Human Rights Commission recommendations.
  • Use of de-escalation techniques contributing to the reduction of injuries in use of force incidents – 74% decrease since 2020 and a 75% decrease in injuries to people in crisis compared to 2022 data. 97% of all use of force incidents involved de-escalation by officers.
  • 33% decrease in all types of use of force and the drawing and pointing of a firearm has decreased by 11%. There were no firearm discharges in 2023.
  • 20% increase in use of force reports resulting from increasing population and recent crime trends such as a 57% increase in weapons calls and a 165% increase in stolen vehicle calls.

 

“Peel Regional Police’s Human Rights Project team continues to collaborate with leading academic experts to build upon our operational successes and address community issues,” Chief Nishan Duraiappah, Peel Regional Police, said. “Our continued commitment is to ensure the safety and well-being of the community we serve while implementing strategies that reduce disparity and improve outcomes for our community.”

The Ontario Ministry of the Solicitor General has mandated that whenever an officer is involved in an incident during which force is used, a Use of Force Report must be filed before the officer goes off duty. If there are multiple officers who use force in one incident, each must file a report. There could be multiple reports for one incident.

The Human Rights Project is an initiative to implement co-designed recommendations between the Peel Police Service Board, Anti-racism Advisory Committee, PRP and the Ontario Human Rights Commission in 2020 to address issues of systemic racism and discrimination in PRP.

For media inquiries, please contact the on-duty Media Relations Officer at (905) 453-2121, ext. 4027.

Subscribe to us on YouTube and follow us on X, Facebook, and Instagram.

N/R #24-251

Peel Regional Police – A Safer Community Together
-30-

Contact Us