Safety and Security for Canadians

Post-Sept 11th - The Fight Against Terrorism

• Through its work in community and federal policing, the RCMP assists in helping Canadians keep their communities safe and secure.
• Immediately after September 11, 2001, the Government of Canada moved quickly to implement an Anti-Terrorism plan designed to give organizations like the RCMP the tools it needed to detect, deter, disable and prosecute terrorists.
  
  • The Prime Minister established the Ad Hoc Cabinet Committee on Public Security and Anti-Terrorism chaired by Finance Minister John Manley, to address the immediate and long-term challenges in the area of national security.
  • Canadian law enforcement, security and intelligence organizations continued and enhanced their efforts to share timely, relevant information and intelligence that could result in the identification of terrorists.
  • The RCMP put into place a public information line for persons who had information that could help the RCMP in its ongoing investigations related to terrorism. Thousands of calls were investigated in the months that followed.
  • The Government of Canada showed that it was serious about fighting terrorism. On October 12, 2001, the RCMP received an investment of $59 million in support of its fight against terrorism. This investment was provided to enhance analytical, intelligence sharing and operational technology; to support protective operations; to enhance security activities at airports, major centres, ports and border crossings; and to invest in immediate staffing requirements for priority areas such as those targeting cross-border criminal activities.
  • That investment was supplemented in the December 10, 2001 Federal Budget. The RCMP received a total investment of $576 million to fund 17 initiatives dedicated to national security efforts.
  • In total, the 2001 Federal Budget allocated more than $7 billion overall to support, coordinate and implement national security activities, a portion of which was earmarked for the RCMP. Since 2000, the Government of Canada has dedicated almost ten billion dollars to the public safety envelope.
  • Legislation such as the Anti-Terrorism Act and An Act to amend the Criminal Code , were also passed in winter 2001/02. This new legislation made a significant contribution to the RCMP and other Canadian law enforcement organizations’ abilities to fight terrorism.
  • Also, on December 11, 2001, Canada and the United States announced the Smart Border Declaration, a 30-point plan aimed at fighting terrorism.
  • In April 2002,Transport Minister David Collenette announced the Canadian Air Carrier Protective Program. The RCMP plays a crucial role in this program by providing security on select domestic and international flights.
• The RCMP has put into place four Integrated National Security Enforcement Teams (INSETS) in major urban centres–Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, and Ottawa and will have 23 International Border Enforcement Teams (IBETS) operational across the country by the end of this fiscal year.
• In late August of this year, the Solicitor General for Canada announced an investment of $30 million for the lawful access action plan so that the RCMP and other government agencies can develop and share technology.
• The Solicitor General also launched national consultations to seek the views of Canadians on the important issue of lawful access–to ensure that the balance between fighting terrorism and maintaining Canadians’ rights and freedoms is respected.
  Terrorism is a global problem. No system is infallible; no country is immune. That is why the RCMP continues to be vigilant in the fight against terrorism.
• The RCMP has been an active partner in the worldwide fight against terrorism and we will continue our efforts in partnership with other law enforcement and police agencies in Canada and abroad.

INVESTIGATIVE TOOLS

Integrated National Security Enforcement Teams (INSETs)

• INSETs gather information to prevent, detect and prosecute criminal offences against national security. The mandate of these integrated units is to increase the capacity for the collection, sharing and analysis of intelligence among partners with respect to targets that are a threat to national security. INSETs also create an enhanced enforcement capacity to bring such targets to justice.
• The integrated approach between intelligence/enforcement, from the very early stages of criminal activity has proven to be a highly effective model for successful prosecution.

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Integrated Border Enforcement Teams (IBETs)

• Integrated Border Enforcement Team program is a multi-faceted law enforcement initiative comprised of both Canadian and American partners. This bi-national partnership enables the five core law enforcement partners involved in IBETS to share information and work together daily with other local, state and provincial enforcement agencies on issues relating to national security, organized crime and other criminality transiting the Canada/US border between the Ports of Entry (POE).
• More specifically, IBET is an intelligence-led cooperative that supports national security investigations associated to the Canada/US border and investigates cross-border illegal activities, between the POE. Intelligence is developed and shared with all IBET partners in strict accordance with applicable laws, regulations and Agency/Departmental policies through appropriate protocols. IBET is a cooperative bilateral initiative that ensures borders are open for business, but closed to crime.

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Technology Enhancements--Funding for intelligence and policing efforts

• The RCMP received funds to purchase equipment and enhance the analytical, threat assessment and surveillance systems to support existing and enhanced activities.
• This investment includes enhancements in the following areas:
  • Technical assistance such as information and identification services and operational technical support such as lawful access, high-tech crime and forensics;
  • Infrastructure systems for intelligence and investigations such as:
    • Fingerprint Identification Access Systems
    • Automated Intelligence Information Systems
    • Forensic Identification Services
    • Forensic Laboratory Services
    • Real Time Identification LiveScan Units
    • Enhanced Techniques to Detect Counterfeit Travel
    • Documents–Screening of Entrants into Canada
    • Fingerprint Card Conversion Technology
    • Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS)

Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear Response Team (CBRN)

• In Canada, the safety of Canadians and foreign dignitaries from biological/chemical agents used in terrorist acts is handled through a joint RCMP-DND Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear Response Team (CBRN).
• CBRN received funds from the 2001 Federal Budget. The mandate of the CBRN unit and the purpose of the funding is to ensure that the RCMP is capable of responding to CBRN threats and incidents, by providing to its members the appropriate guidance, personal protection, training and mitigation tools such that they are prepared and confident in conducting limited, controlled responses.
• The RCMP remains committed to gathering criminal intelligence, preventing and responding to terrorist action, and integrating its prepared investigative, technical and scientific resources with partners such as Health Canada, Environment Canada, CSIS, the Department of National Defense and the U.S. Department of National Defense in response to biological/chemical attacks.
• Funding will be directed for enhancements to existing laboratories so they may be better positioned to detect and identify possible biochemical threats; for protective equipment, and for better training of emergency response.

Protection of Designated Persons and Sites in Canada

The RCMP received funds to be dedicated to the protection of designated persons and sites in Canada.

Enhanced security at airports

• An investment was devoted to the initial purchase of LiveScan units for immediate deployment at major Canadian cities, border crossings, airports, ports and police units across Canada for the electronic transmission of fingerprints, palmprints and photographs to the RCMP Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) site.
• The purchase of fingerprint card conversion technology allowed the RCMP to upgrade the Canadian Criminal Records System.
• Funding was also provided to the Emergency Response Team to undertake enhanced tactical response capabilities.

Canadian Air Carrier Protective Program

• In 2001, as a result of an initiative put forward by Transport Canada, the RCMP entered into an agreement with Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) to provide specially-trained RCMP police officers on board select Canadian registered aircraft.
• Protective Policing is responsible for the training and deployment of tactical Aircraft Protective Officers (APOs) for selected domestic and international flights. These APOs have a mandate to respond to security threats on board select Canadian registered aircraft.

National DNA Databank

• Another important investigative tool that we want to improve is the National DNA Data Bank. Canada is one of a very few countries that has put in place a national system to enable the use of forensic DNA analysis in solving crime.
• In the two years that the Data Bank has been up and running, it has produced 321 crime scene-to-convicted offender matches and 23 crime scene-to-crime scene matches.

The Anti-terrorism Act

• Safety and Security for Canadians