Digital Policing Strategy
Rapid advances in technology have led to significant changes in criminal behaviour and new types of crime. These changes require a new, modern approach to policing. “The Connected RCMP”, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police’s digital policing strategy, was created to help guide the organization’s future as a modern, agile organization, under four themes:
- Our Communities: the Royal Canadian Mounted Police will need to meet the needs of a technologically advanced public. From online crime reporting to smartphone apps, the future of the RCMP will be mobile and online. The perimeter-less nature of modern crime means that cooperation and communication with partners will be more important than ever.
- Our Partners: The RCMP will adopt more efficient digital methods to deliver services and exchange information with its law enforcement partners.
- Each Other: Mobile devices and apps will be provided so that employees can access RCMP systems from anywhere. Employees will have instant access to key information during critical events and this will increase officer safety.
- Information: The RCMP will create better, more efficient processes for collecting, storing, and using data to make better policing and business decisions.
Core Responsibilities: planned results and resources, and key risks
This section contains detailed information on the department’s planned results and resources for each of its core responsibilities. It also contains information on key risks related to achieving those results.
Core Responsibilities
As described below, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police‘s core responsibilities are Federal Policing, National Police Services, and Contract and Indigenous Policing.
Federal Policing 870,180,294
Description
Through Federal Policing, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police prevents, detects, and investigates serious and organized crime, financial crime, and cybercrime, as well as crimes related to national security. In addition, it enforces federal statutes, conducts international policing activities, and ensures border integrity and the security of major events, state officials, dignitaries and designated sites.
Protective Services
Federal Policing Investigations
Intelligence
Federal Policing operations are supported and informed by relevant intelligence to ensure that decisions are based on the best information available. The Federal Policing intelligence program will continue to collect, analyze, and operationalize intelligence to advance criminal operations and to support senior level decision-making on threats, risks, trends, and opportunities. These efforts will prevent serious criminal activity through disruption and deterrence before it reaches Canadian borders. The intelligence program will continue to advance federal priorities by enhancing its international footprint to confront emerging threats, all while continuing to strengthen domestic and international partnerships.
International Policing
Federal Policing Prevention and Engagement
Federal Operations Support
Federal Policing Governance
National Police Services 499,529,677
Description
Through National Police Services, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police provides training, national criminal data repositories, and investigative assistance, expertise, and tools to all Canadian law enforcement agencies in a variety of fields such as forensics, identification, firearms, and online child exploitation. Internally, the RCMP provides a diverse range of technical services to support operations such as the collection of digital evidence, the delivery of policing information technology tools, and the implementation of departmental security standards.
Planning Highlights:
Canadian Firearms Program
Canadian Police College
Forensic Science & Identification Services
Sensitive and Specialized Investigative Services
(Formerly the Canadian Police Centre for Missing and Exploited Children, CPCMEC)
National Cybercrime Coordination Unit
In 2017-18, the Government of Canada introduced the National Cyber Security Strategy, which called for the creation of the National Cybercrime Coordination (NC3) Unit as a new nationally delivered law enforcement service. This unit has been established within the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and will coordinate major cybercrime investigations in Canada and work with international law enforcement partners. The NC3 has established a partnership with the Canadian Digital Service to design a new public reporting system for victims of cybercrime to report to law enforcement, which is scheduled for implementation by 2022. In the coming year, the NC3 and its stakeholders will continue its implementation activities and is expected to begin initial operations in April 2020.
Operational IM/IT Services
In support of, and in alignment with, the Government of Canada’s Policy on Service and Digital and the GC Digital Standards, the Operational IM/IT Program will begin implementation of “The Connected RCMP” Digital Policing Strategy. The strategy is focused on impactful and transformative change to improve digital connections between the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the communities it serves, as well as with public safety and justice partners, and internally among its own employees and resources. The RCMP will leverage new and emerging technologies to increase access to internal and external data holdings to support effective decision-making, and ease the burden of technology on employees by providing modern, user-friendly tools, and situational awareness. Operational IM/IT Services will focus on the foundational capabilities to enable modernization including cloud technology, increased mobility, IT security, access controls, and data management. As an example, the RCMP is reviewing options to replace Criminal Intelligence Service Canada’s (CISC) 40-year old national database for criminal intelligence on serious and organized crime ? the Automated Criminal Intelligence Information System (ACIIS) ? to ensure it can meet the modern data collection and analysis needs of CISC’s over 380 federal, provincial and municipal partner agencies.
In addition, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police will continue to deploy a new mission-critical radio communication system in Central Canada (Ontario and Quebec), which will enable seamless roaming and interoperability, and ensure that efficient and reliable communication is available with partner public safety agencies in both routine and emergency situations.
Contract and Indigenous Policing 1,548,098,203
Description
Under the Police Service Agreements, the RCMP provides policing services to the provinces (except Ontario and Quebec) and territories, as well as municipalities and Indigenous communities. These services include the general administration of justice, preservation of peace, prevention of crime, and fulfilment of all duties as outlined under the laws of Canada or the laws of respective provinces and territories.
Planning highlights
Serving Communities
Sexual Assault Review Team
Cannabis and Law Enforcement
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police will support Canadian police and other agencies with the enforcement of developing and evolving cannabis legislation. Contract and Indigenous Policing will also help address drug-impaired driving through its national Drug Recognition Expert program, standards, and certification events.
The RCMP has advanced efforts to develop, update, and ramp up law enforcement training across Canada in relation to the legalization of cannabis, including the curricula for standardized field sobriety testing, drug recognition expert training, as well as training on the impairment of drugs and oral fluid drug screening devices. These activities will ensure police officers are well-equipped to enforce related legislation to keep roads safe. Furthermore, the RCMP will continue to increase public awareness in relation to cannabis and the dangers of drug-impaired driving, including among youth and high-risk communities.
National Youth Services
Indigenous Policing and Engagement with Indigenous Communities
The RCMP is committed to working towards a renewed nation-to-nation relationship with Indigenous peoples based on the recognition of rights, respect, cooperation, partnership, and reconciliation. The organization will continue to develop and evaluate practical and culturally-aware policing services for Indigenous communities, using regular and collaborative consultations with Indigenous organizations, other government departments, and the Commissioner’s National Indigenous Advisory Committee. These engagement efforts are designed to support proactive crime prevention initiatives that are tailored to Indigenous communities. They are intended to bolster community safety and wellness objectives set out by Indigenous communities, all while ensuring policies and programs reflect, promote, and encourage the recruitment of Indigenous Peoples into the RCMP.
Contract Policing
Internal Services: planned results 598,707,798
Description
Internal Services are those groups of related activities and resources that the federal government considers to be services in support of Programs and/or required to meet corporate obligations of an organization. Internal Services refer to the activities and resources of the 10 distinct services that support Program delivery in the organization, regardless of the Internal Services delivery model in a department.
Departmental Security
The RCMP will continue to support the Government of Canada’s priority to establish standard Insider Threat policies and procedures across all departments. The aftercare program component of the current Standard on Security Screening (SSS) is meant to include Insider Threats, and a five-year review of the SSS has been initiated by TBS. Following this review, TBS may establish common definitions and standards.
In addition, the Canadian Committee on National Security Systems, led by the Communications Security Establishment and comprised of all departments responsible for National Security Systems (NSS), recently approved a draft Standard on Protecting National Security Systems from Insider Threats. Over the next year, the RCMP will work towards ensuring that all NSS under its responsibility are compliant with this new standard.
Action, Innovation and Modernization
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is dedicated to identifying, supporting, and advancing modernization initiatives across the organization. Led by a Deputy Commissioner reporting directly to the Commissioner, the Action, Innovation and Modernization (AIM) office will ensure the RCMP has a sustained, coordinated, and committed focus on modernization efforts. Fostering an inclusive environment is at the heart of AIM’s work, which is in line with the Government’s broader priority of diversity and inclusion.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police supports transgender, non-binary, and two-spirit employees. To support horizontal initiatives to remove systemic barriers, the RCMP will develop a guide for employees and managers, and will contribute to broader efforts towards reconciliation with Indigenous communities, as well as under the Federal Anti-Racism Strategy.
