Data suggests Regina police used force more in 2020 compared to 2019

The Regina Police Service (RPS) used force in arrests more in 2020 than in 2019.

According to a Board of Police Commissioners report, there was a 19.2 per cent increase when it came to force being used in order to make an arrest last year.

The report details the 329 reported uses of force in 2020 were an increase of 53 compared to the 276 reported cases in 2019.

Categories such as physically striking someone, pointing a gun at someone or engaging the tactical team all saw increased use, according to the data.

Police Chief Evan Bray says the numbers fluctuate from year to year.

“I think drugs, alcohol, firearms (and) maybe to a lesser degree gang activity in the city — those types of higher-risk types of crimes or indicators that can be present at an incident — absolutely will change how we respond and whether or not officers need to use force,” Bray said. “Use of force is very much a reaction to the incident that we’re responding to.”

Bray said the increase in force was largely due to vehicle immobilization tactics.

That method saw the biggest increase in use, mostly because of tire deflation practices, which saw an increased use of 27 times compared to the year prior.

“That’s using a device intended to deflate the tires on a vehicle to stop the vehicle that is refusing to stop,” Bray said. “We also know the number of files involving people evading the police has significantly increased over the last couple of years and most times, those investigations also include other types of high-risk crime.

“There’s often firearms present and drugs are often involved as well. So I think they’re all intertwined and they absolutely are indicative of the change that we saw.”

The report includes that de-escalation training is included in training and that officers are provided a tactical communication course as well.

All reported use-of-force incidents are reviewed by RPS’s use-of-force board before it is determined if the act was appropriate and compliant with policy, and if any further training, disciplinary action or criminal charges are warranted.

“There’s a ton of work that our police service does to try and minimize crime and victimization in our city,” Bray said. “Ultimately, those can translate into less force needing to be used.

“But really, when we have to use force, it’s because the situation has unfolded in a way that there is harm or serious injury or death to someone in that call.

“Sometimes it’s a member of the public, sometimes it’s the police officer (and) other times it could be the subject of the call.”