NOVA SCOTIA, CANADA - The Halifax police board has published a draft policy surrounding the police use of force policy and how they want it to prioritize de-escalation. The public can send feedback on the board's draft policy until mid-January 2026.
New direction from Halifax's police oversight board says that the municipal force should update its decades-old use of force policy to emphasize de-escalation, bringing it in line with modern provincial standards, CBC Canada reported.
On Wednesday, December 3, the city's board of police commissioners passed a draft of their own policy laying out what they believe the Halifax Regional Police (HRP) chief should include in its new use of force policy. "I don't think any officer comes to work on their shift each day looking to apply force," board chair Greg O'Malley said.
"Situations ... can evolve quite rapidly that might require it, and this is about trying to set some guidelines in a policy to help them understand acceptable uses of force."
HRP's current use of force policy was first issued in September 1996 and has remained the same since, except for an addition on Tasers in 2011. O'Malley said that a lot has changed over those decades, including significant events like the 2020 Nova Scotia mass shooting, and the Wortley report that found black people in Halifax were six times more likely to be stopped by police than white people.
There are also new policing tools that have emerged over those years, like body cameras, drones and armored vehicles, he added. The board's proposed policy states that force should be a "last resort" and officers should de-escalate situations "when reasonably feasible in the circumstances."
That includes using verbal warnings first to gain compliance, and continually looking for ways to de-escalate "even after force has been applied."
This is different from the current policy, which says "in a majority of cases, some level of physical force will be necessary to effect an arrest or protect others." A staff report on the board's policy said the 1996 position contrasts with the new Nova Scotia policing standards on use of force brought in 2024.
The new standards say its officers should use strategies to "decrease the intensity of a situation," improve decision-making and reduce the need for force. There have been a handful of recent recommendations to update HRP's use of force policy.
The board's direction said the HRP policy must require officers to intervene if "inappropriate force" is used by colleagues and to report when it happens. The policy said that HRP should recognize the risks of vascular neck restraints, including possible permanent injury if improperly applied, and dangers of pursuing a fleeing vehicle.
All sworn members must be given periodic training on de-escalation, the board's policy said, recognizing that children, pregnant people and people in crisis have "specific vulnerabilities that must be taken into account" when they are subjected to force.
The policy must also include a plan to ensure the subject's well-being, like a health assessment, after a use of force option is deployed, the board's direction states.
"The risk of physical, and moral, and psychological injury to both police and the public is what we are trying to reduce here," Commissioner Vincent Beswick-Escanlar, who helped craft the board's policy, said during the meeting.
The board is also asking for new annual data reports from both HRP and Halifax RCMP, which include the total number of use of physical control incidents, vascular neck restraints, police dog bites, and displays or discharges of a firearm.
New direction from Halifax's police oversight board says that the municipal force should update its decades-old use of force policy to emphasize de-escalation, bringing it in line with modern provincial standards, CBC Canada reported.
On Wednesday, December 3, the city's board of police commissioners passed a draft of their own policy laying out what they believe the Halifax Regional Police (HRP) chief should include in its new use of force policy. "I don't think any officer comes to work on their shift each day looking to apply force," board chair Greg O'Malley said.
"Situations ... can evolve quite rapidly that might require it, and this is about trying to set some guidelines in a policy to help them understand acceptable uses of force."
HRP's current use of force policy was first issued in September 1996 and has remained the same since, except for an addition on Tasers in 2011. O'Malley said that a lot has changed over those decades, including significant events like the 2020 Nova Scotia mass shooting, and the Wortley report that found black people in Halifax were six times more likely to be stopped by police than white people.
There are also new policing tools that have emerged over those years, like body cameras, drones and armored vehicles, he added. The board's proposed policy states that force should be a "last resort" and officers should de-escalate situations "when reasonably feasible in the circumstances."
That includes using verbal warnings first to gain compliance, and continually looking for ways to de-escalate "even after force has been applied."
This is different from the current policy, which says "in a majority of cases, some level of physical force will be necessary to effect an arrest or protect others." A staff report on the board's policy said the 1996 position contrasts with the new Nova Scotia policing standards on use of force brought in 2024.
The new standards say its officers should use strategies to "decrease the intensity of a situation," improve decision-making and reduce the need for force. There have been a handful of recent recommendations to update HRP's use of force policy.
The board's direction said the HRP policy must require officers to intervene if "inappropriate force" is used by colleagues and to report when it happens. The policy said that HRP should recognize the risks of vascular neck restraints, including possible permanent injury if improperly applied, and dangers of pursuing a fleeing vehicle.
All sworn members must be given periodic training on de-escalation, the board's policy said, recognizing that children, pregnant people and people in crisis have "specific vulnerabilities that must be taken into account" when they are subjected to force.
The policy must also include a plan to ensure the subject's well-being, like a health assessment, after a use of force option is deployed, the board's direction states.
"The risk of physical, and moral, and psychological injury to both police and the public is what we are trying to reduce here," Commissioner Vincent Beswick-Escanlar, who helped craft the board's policy, said during the meeting.
The board is also asking for new annual data reports from both HRP and Halifax RCMP, which include the total number of use of physical control incidents, vascular neck restraints, police dog bites, and displays or discharges of a firearm.
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