Use of Force Incidents Involving Hamilton Police Decreased in 2021 – Hamilton | Globalnews.ca

The number of times police officers in Hamilton used force dropped last year, according to a new report from service

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The report, presented to the Hamilton Police Services Board meeting last week, found there were 361 use-of-force incidents in 2021, a 17 percent decrease from 2020, when the service saw 431 incidents, the highest number reported within a 10-year period.

Board Chairman Pat Mandy called the decrease “good news” during Thursday’s meeting.

Use of force incidents include situations such as officers drawing, aiming, or firing their handguns, using a baton or conductive energy weapon (CEW), or using physical force on a person in any way.

Read more:

Hamilton Police Reveal 10-Year High in Use-of-Force Incidents Through Annual Report

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The most common type of use of force involved displaying a DEC (80 incidents) or discharging a DEC (65 incidents), followed by pointing a firearm (132 incidents).

Two types of force saw more than double the number of reports year over year, including the removal of handguns, which increased from 42 to 91.

Incidents of “soft empty hand,” which are described as “wrist locks,” “pressure points” or “handcuffs,” increased from 14 to 37.

“An officer should only file a report for Empty Hands Soft if they ‘use physical force on another person resulting in an injury requiring medical attention’ or use this option in conjunction with another option that requires a mandatory report,” it reads. the use of force report.

Ten of those 37 incidents involved minor injuries that were reportedly treated with medical attention.

Overall, 71 injuries involving an officer, a member of the public, or both were reported, and 44 of those injuries involved the removal of a DEC probe from the person who was shot.

There were 19 cases of officers discharging their firearm, but all 19 involved the euthanasia of deer, according to the report.

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Deputy Chief Paul Hamilton said 72 percent of use-of-force incidents last year involved officers responding to a gun call and 110 of those gun calls had a firearm as the most prominent weapon.

“Police officers today are encountering an increase in the use of weapons by subjects,” he said.

“We are seeing an increase in guns on our streets and in 2021, officers recovered 224 firearms. Currently, we are seizing a gun on the street every 42 hours.”

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Last year, the attorney general made it mandatory that use-of-force reports indicate the racial origin of people subjected to force by police, though that information must be based solely on the officer’s perception.

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There were a total of 342 use-of-force incidents involving people and 314 individuals involved in those incidents, but in eight different reports, officers identified four subjects with different perceived racial origins.

Overall, the data shows that two-thirds of the subjects were white, about 12 percent were black, and about 6.5 percent were perceived as indigenous or of Middle Eastern origin.

For the first time, the use of force report includes data on where in the city the incident occurred and where the subject lives.

The vast majority of the 256 unique incidents took place in the forward classification area (FSA) L8L in the lower city.

Not everyone who was forcibly subdued by Hamilton police in 2021 was actually from Hamilton. Only 64 percent had a mappable FSA and 16 percent did not have a fixed address.

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The report indicates that 187 use-of-force incidents involved officers who had been in the service for five years or less, 56 were between tactical officers, and 33 involved officers who had been members for between six and 10 years.

General patrol officers and emergency response unit officers make up the majority of police involved in use of force cases.

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Hamilton Police use new virtual reality training to improve response to mental health crises

The deputy chief of the service acknowledged that although incidents of use of force decreased last year, the police still need to do more to prevent the use of force.

“We will continue to work with our community partners to find the best way to intervene and provide public safety while ensuring the least amount of force is used,” Hamilton said.

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That includes new virtual reality training being conducted in partnership with Wilfred Laurier University and Metropolitan University of Toronto that aims to improve police response to mental health crises.

So far, Hamilton said 421 officers have received crisis intervention training and the goal is to train all officers and frontline staff, though no concrete timeline has been set for achieving that goal.


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