A Contextualized Assessment of Duty-Related Bodily Harm Associated with Canadian Police Services

Criticisms of Canadian police interactions with the public have escalated since early 2010s, with increasing negative media attention. Police use of force is not inherently wrong, is sometimes necessary to protect citizens, and is prescribed by provincial legislation to prevent further risk of harm to the public. Negative media coverage often focuses on critiquing police causing duty-related bodily harm (DRBH) without sufficient context. The current study quantitatively analysed publicly available Canadian data on DRBH involving use of force exceeding legally-approved standard operating procedures or involving code of conduct violations (FELSOP), relative to total police occurrences. Since 2012, independent provincial civilian oversight agency Crown referrals have been stable at less than 0.08% (i.e., <1/10th of 1%) of all police occurrences. The rate of fatalities of members of the public per police occurrence has remained at less than 0.001% (i.e., less than 1/1000th of 1%) since 2000, with only three Canadian police convicted of DRBH involving FELSOP resulting in a deceased member of the public while on duty. Comparatively, a total of 104 on-duty police officer fatalities were recorded between 2000 and 2023, 47 of which were identified as resulting from intentionally harmful acts committed by members of the public. As a result, police appear ~23.5 times more likely to die by intentionally harmful acts by members of the public than to be convicted of fatal DRBH involving FELSOP against the public. The current proportions of less than 1/10th of 1% raise questions about substantial criticisms and calls for pervasive reforms, and suggest careful considerations are needed regarding reasonable expectations.