Canada

INTERVIEW: Chief Fady Dagher of the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (Montreal City Police) is looking to transform the relationship between police and the communities they serve, with a range of groundbreaking initiatives – including an Immersion Programme where officers live with host families to gain a better understanding and insight into the everyday challenges they face – designed to create a new policing culture and more cohesive communities, as he explained to Policing Insight’s Christine Townsend.

FEATURE: The latest National Cyber Threat Assessment for Canada highlights the increasing cybercrime risk posed by state actors such as China, Russia and Iran, as well as the growing prevalence of criminals using the cybercrime-as-a-service business model, with ransomware signposted as the top cybercrime threat facing the country’s critical infrastructure, as Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth reports.

FEATURE: As law enforcement around the world embarks on meeting the challenges of 2025, Editor Keith Potter looks back over the key issues Policing Insight covered in 2024 – from technological threats and opportunities, to workforce wellbeing, the role of leadership, and the increasing focus on reform – and how these may affect the next 12 months.

OPINION: 3D-printed firearms – known as ‘ghost guns’ – have been used in a wide range of criminal incidents by organised crime groups as well as political and religious extremists, with growing numbers of arrests in the US, Canada, the UK and Australia; Professor Nir Kshetri of the University of North Carolina-Greensboro believes that the use of ghost guns in violent and criminal activity will continue to increase, with governments and police facing significant challenges in regulating the firearms.

INTERVIEW: Having embarked on a policing career out of a strong desire to be “the person who helped”, Barrie Police Service Chief Rich Johnston found that evidence-based policing (EBP) instilled a real passion to make policing smarter, safer, and more transparent; and as he explained to Policing Insight’s Matthew Wood, while adopting and implementing an EBP philosophy has its challenges, it offers significant potential for positive transformation.

OPINION: A new report from the five nations of the Five Eyes intelligence community highlights the increasing rates of online youth radicalisation, a threat borne out by the involvement of young people in every counter-terrorism case investigated this year by the Australian Federal Police; Greg Barton, Professor of Global Islamic Politics at the Alfred Deakin Institute, argues that while Australia already has good systems in place, the report offers valuable advice for parents, teachers, and any other agencies working with children and young people.

INTERVIEW: Having joined Peel Regional Police five years ago, Chief Nishan Duraiappah soon recognised the challenges facing the force, and set about implementing a change programme to create “the most progressive, innovative and inclusive service in the galaxy” – one which needed needs “to look and feel like it has a start-up mentality”, as he explained to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons.

ANALYSIS: Research by criminal intelligence specialist Helen Glazebrook as part of a Churchill Fellowship award examines the collaboration between police and correctional facilities in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the US and the UK, highlighting the need for closer co-operation between agencies particularly in relation to monitoring the actions of those involved in serious organised crime, as she explained to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons.

FEATURE: Police leaders, academics and stakeholders gathered in Ontario recently for Canada’s first in-person evidence-based policing (EBP) conference, exploring a range of topics including overcoming barriers and normalizing EBP within law enforcement, the importance of leadership in embedding the approach, and turning research into action; Policing Insight’s Matthew Wood looks at the main themes and debates emerging from the Building Bridges event.

ANALYSIS: New research from the University of Calgary shows that three-quarters of men charged with domestic violence (DV) have already interacted with police at least once, with two thirds showing a clear trajectory of increasing police interactions in the lead up to their DV charge; Associate Professor Lana Wells believes this data around perpetrators offers an opportunity to intervene early and prevent the escalation of violence.

OPINION: The latest figures for gun crime in parts of Canada make for worrying reading, with shootings in Toronto increasing by 58% on last year, and the average age of those involved dropping to 20; Professor Ardavan Eizadirad of Wilfrid Laurier University argues that the best way to tackle the issue is through a data-driven public health approach that addresses the root causes of violence using evidence-based interventions.

FEATURE: Academics from two Canadian universities have raised concerns about the country’s law enforcement use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools, claiming that police bodies aren’t transparent enough when procuring new tech, and that failing to make policing subject to new AI legislation could undermine justice in Canada in the future, as Policing Insight’s James Sweetland reports.

ANALYSIS: In the third in a series of five articles looking at the big debates in police use of facial recognition (FR), extracted from this year’s ‘Facing the future: The rise of facial recognition in policing’ report, Policing Insight’s James Sweetland explored human involvement in overseeing FR systems – often seen as an essential requirement for a trustworthy use of the technology, but does the human presence really reduce bias?

FEATURE: The recent Safety of Our Cities conference in Ontario, Canada, highlighted the continuing debate between closer collaboration with other agencies or tougher enforcement of existing legislation as the way forward to cutting crime and ensuring the safety of urban communities; Policing Insight’s Matthew Wood looks at some of the key points put forward by chiefs and politicians from various jurisdictions.

ANALYSIS: In the first of a two-part feature marking the 30th anniversary of police use of TASER, Policing Insight’s James Sweetland explores the global growth of this tool, what it offers policing, and concerns about racial disproportionality and use in mental health incidents – drawing on interviews with National Police Chiefs’ Council less-lethal weapons lead Chief Constable Lucy D’Orsi, Thames Valley Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Barber, and others.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: We have sold out Building Bridges at Blue - Canada’s first in-person Evidence-Based Policing Conference taking place November 7 & 8, 2024, at the iconic Blue Mountain Resort, in Collingwood, Ontario. This event is drawing attendees from post secondary institutions, police agencies and industry stakeholders across Canada.

OPINION: A ruling by the British Columbia Supreme Court has cleared the way for Surrey Police Service to take over from the RCMP as the force of jurisdiction from next month; Royal Roads University Associate Lecturer Dr Bryce Casavant believes the Federal Government support for the move to municipal policing in Surrey could see other communities around Canada follow suit.

FEATURE: Closer collaboration with social agencies on homelessness, a mindset shift within policing to overcome barriers to change, and the continuing expansion of co-response models were among the key messages from police chiefs, public safety experts and community advocates at the recent Safety of Our Cities conference in Ontario, Canada, as Policing Insight’s Matthew Wood reports.

FEATURE: Policing Insight’s Ian Weinfass examines the proliferation of law enforcement across the UK, Australia, the US and Canada preparing to send UAVs out to view incidents before personnel can reach them on the ground, and examines the advantages and criticisms of the approach.

ANALYSIS: In the last in a series of four articles, Policing Insight’s Matthew Wood explores the case for transformational leadership in policing, the differing approaches to leadership training in the UK and Canada, and offers his own practical tips for police leadership development.

FREE SUBSCRIBER ACCESS: Policing Insight welcomes staff from the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) who now have FREE subscriber access with the start of a new organisation wide subscription. They join a community of readers from many other UK and international government, police, criminal justice and emergency services organisations with an interest in progressive policing. Read on to find out how to use your FREE subscriber access.

FEATURE: Last week’s Global Evidence-Based Policing (EBP) Conference, supported by Policing Insight as media partner, saw pioneers of the evidence-based approach gather in Melbourne to share insights and best practice, as well as signing a new memorandum of understanding between EBP societies in six countries that could lay the foundations for greater global collaboration and co-operation, as Policing Insight’s Keith Potter reports.

INTERVIEWS: Ahead of the Global Evidence-Based Policing (EBP) Conference, Mark Evans, NZ Police Executive Lead for Future Policing and the Vice-President of the Australia New Zealand Society of Evidence-Based Policing, spoke to fellow EBP pioneers about the growth, opportunities and challenges around the approach; in this second of two features, he explores the future of EBP over the coming decade, and how to increase understanding among the public as well as convincing the sceptics.

ANALYSIS: Following a series of highly critical reports, Canada’s Public Safety Minister recently announced the separation of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police’s (RCMP) federal policing portfolio from its contract policing responsibilities; Policing Insight’s Matthew Wood looks at the country’s complex policing structure, challenges currently facing the force, and what the changes could mean for the RCMP.