Introduction

The Ottawa Police Service has a Public Order Unit which pro-actively manages crowd situations at various levels of order, through interaction with crowd participants. The Unit utilizes the minimum amount of force required when carrying out these duties.

Related Policies

Major Incidents

Definitions

Public Order Unit - a group of approximately fifty members who have been identified and trained to perform a variety of specific job functions outlined in this policy

Hard Tact - situations involving crowd management where the civilians involved are becoming progressively more hostile /threatening and an escalated response by the Public Order Unit is warranted. This response involves a number of equipment /uniform changes to facilitate this response

Soft Tact - crowd management where the civilian involved are relatively peaceful and the need to resort to an escalated response (i.e. Hard Tact) is not warranted

Incident Commander - the officer who has overall control of the situation, responsible for co-ordinating all aspects of the police response

Forensic Sweep - a systematic search of an area for any evidence covering an extended area

General

1. Public Order Unit members are trained to ensure they have the appropriate knowledge, skills and abilities to perform this specific job function.

2. The Public Order Unit will respond to incidents of the following nature;

a. crowd management
b. organized searches
c. large scale evacuations
d. outer-perimeter duties
e. forensic sweeps

3. Crowd Management details could entail the following;

a. in anticipation of a crowd of protesters gathering
b. in preparation for the attendance of dignitaries
c. to assist in the peaceful dispersion of crowds from sport or concert venues
d. as a proactive method of order maintenance, by making informal contact with members of a crowd to;
• reduce crowd agitation
• determine the temperament of a crowd
• impart a psychological impact on a crowd
• isolate or passively disperse a crowd

4. Specialized equipment to assist with searches may be utilized. This includes, but is not limited to;
a. Boats: OPS Marine Patrol, RCMP & OPP Marine Services
b. Air Service: RCMP fixed-wing or rotary based aircraft
c. Snowmobiles: OPS, and/or RCMP, available anywhere within the City
d. All Terrain Vehicles: OPS and/or RCMP, available anywhere within the City
e. Military Helicopters: For performing rescues in areas otherwise inaccessible to other helicopters or land vehicles.

5. See Ground Search policy for more information on searches.

6. To activate the Public Order Unit, the requestor shall notify the Duty Inspector of the;

a. nature of the incident, including;
• location
• size of the crowd
• behaviour of the crowd
• precipitating event, if known
• any other relevant information

b. reason Public Order Unit is required

c. staging location Public Order Unit should be deployed from

Roles & Responsibilities

A. Public Order Unit Member

Public Order Unit members shall;
a. while on outer perimeter duty, maintain the integrity of the scene until released by the Public Order Unit Supervisor
b. take direction from the Incident Commander if/when such a person is present. Otherwise, only from the Public Order Unit Supervisor
c. use specialty equipment if circumstances necessitate their use
d. conduct a forensic sweep when directed and under the supervision of an Identification Officer
e. when responding to a crowd management situation, initial response should be Soft Tact
f. wear all specialized equipment issued for crowd management responsibilities during Hard Tact situations, including;
• coveralls
• gloves
• hard helmet
• shield
• baton
• Protect brand body armor
• King tread boots
• balaclava
g. during search/rescue operations, carry (in addition to their regular clothing /equipment);
• search vests
• compass
• map
h. during a forensic sweep
• note anything of an evidentiary nature discovered and flag it for follow-up inspection by Identification Section. If the article is perishable, advise the Identification Officer of its discovery immediately
• submit a report to Identification Section and Investigative Services

1. if assigned outer perimeter, crime scene duties, or traffic control at the staging area, record the names and times of all persons entering /leaving the staging area

10. attend all required training days and if unavailable, provide an explanation to the team supervisor in advance if a training day will be missed. If you did not notify in advance, follow-up as soon as possible with an explanation. No more than three training days can be missed without reasonable excuse in any calendar year
11. complete the minimum established annual training requirements. Failure to do so may result in the member’s dismissal from the team

The Public Order Unit Supervisor shall;

a. take direction from the Incident Commander who has overall command of the situation
b. determine the number of Public Order Unit members required to perform the required function.
c. take part in the Selection process of new team members
- submit a detailed report to the Superintendent of Patrol Support Services, of the involvement of ERT in any incident
- organize all training days

C. Duty InspectorThe Duty Inspector shall review requests for the Public Order Unit, and;a. if approved;- request the attendance of Public Order Unit

• liaise with the Public Order Unit Supervisor and work collaboratively to resolve the situation
• maintain a log of events, including times for charge back purposes
• brief the Chief Deputy Chief and District Commander on the incident and it’s resolution
• conduct an internal debriefing of the incident

• monitor the situation until resolved