RCMP initial response to release of the final Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP Report on RCMP Use of the Conducted Energy Weapon

The RCMP welcomes the final report of the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP (CPC) on RCMP use of the Conducted Energy Weapon (CEW). We are pleased to note that Mr. Kennedy supports the continued appropriate use of the CEW.

The report provides valuable information and analysis and helpful recommendations. We will act on the recommendations as quickly as possible to provide clearer direction to our members, to further restrict situations in which the CEW can be deployed, and to develop and implement measures to enhance accountability and to promote officer and public safety.

We agree with Mr. Kennedy that the RCMP must properly instruct our members to appropriately deploy the CEW in an operational setting and account for our use of the weapon.

We have already implemented or begun implementation of much of what Mr. Kennedy has recommended. In fact, as he noted, in some areas we have gone further than he has recommended. The specific steps to be taken to adjust our policies and practices in response to the recommendations will need to appropriately consider the diverse and geographically dispersed communities we serve and the RCMP’s operational imperatives.

We have already committed to continue to work with the CPC as our work progresses and to provide the Minister of Public Safety and the CPC with updates as amendments are drafted and implemented to our policies and training standards.

We will continue to examine our use of force regime as further information becomes available. We look forward to the results of further processes and research underway to examine CEW related issues. We will also pursue discussions with the provinces and territories for which we provide police services under contract and with the broader policing community, including through the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police. Our objective is to achieve agreement on a National Use of Force framework that may be endorsed by police forces across the country.