Police-Encounters-With-People-In-Crisis

my view, police training should aim to meet best practices and professional standards of
excellence, and not only to justify one’s actions based on minimum legal standards.
19. Although not every recruit participates in every practical training scenario, those
who observe an exercise must participate in the debriefing afterward. The debriefing
addresses issues such as the threat that was presented, the circumstances that were
considered by the trainee and those that ought to have been considered, the options
available in the situation and the quality of the decisions made by the participant.
Recruits are required to describe what steps should have been taken if the scenario
continued and to hear how the individual role-playing as the person in crisis perceived
the officer’s actions. Trainees must also articulate what their goals were in handling the
situation, and whether those goals changed as the scenario developed. 20
20. A trainee will fail to meet the required standard if, during the scenario, he or she
lost self-control, applied an inappropriate force option in the circumstances, failed to
transition effectively between force options, or failed to react as required, among other
critical performance measures. 21
D. Toronto Police College Training
21. The TPC provides both in-service and new recruit training, as well as managing
areas of armament, curriculum development and e-learning. The College operates out of
the following seven administrative sections:
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
armament, which sets firearms and tactical training standards for the
Service, provides instructor training and specialized courses in firearms
and CEWs, and analyzes Use of Force and CEW Reports;
community policing, which delivers training to all recruits, lateral entries,
auxiliary officers and new coach officers, including in the areas of human
rights, ethics, professionalism, customer service, wellness, and diversity;
investigative training, which provides instruction in general investigative
techniques, major case management, interviewing skills, plainclothes
work, motor vehicle accident reconstruction, crime scene analysis, sexual
assault, child abuse, domestic violence, drugs, and sudden deaths;
in-service training, which reinforces essential skills through interactive
discussions and practical exercises in officers’ annual refresher training,
including tools to de-escalate aggressive behaviour, to select the most
appropriate use-of-force option, and to respond to “emotionally disturbed
persons;”
leadership and business systems, which train supervisors in leadership,
management principles, and professional development upon promotion.
20
Ontario Police College, “Debriefing Process”, October 2008.
21
OPC, “Safety Form”, supra note 19.
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