Use of Force in Canadian Policing: An Examination of Incidents Involving Persons in Crisis

While persons in crisis (PICs) are overrepresented in police Use of Force (UoF) incidents, the contexts and underlying causes of this overrepresentation remain unclear. Using data from standardized reports collected over a two-year period from a large Canadian police agency, this study compared UoF incidents involving PICs and persons not in crisis. PICs comprised 17.1% of subjects across all UoF incidents (i.e., drawn, displayed, and applied force; n = 2,191) and 24.2% of subjects in applied UoF incidents (n = 1,146). Results indicated that situational factors – including officer, subject, and environmental characteristics – were significantly associated with whether a subject was perceived to be in crisis. Controlling for these factors, PICs had higher odds of having force applied to them, but lower odds of officers perceiving the UoF as effective, compared to persons not in crisis. However, PICs were no more likely to be injured by the UoF, nor were officers more likely to be injured. Findings show the need for enhanced de-escalation and crisis intervention training that prepares officers to manage crisis encounters more effectively, and suggest that alternative response models (i.e., co-response teams) may be better suited to respond to PICs.