RECOMMENDATION 1

The Committee recommends that governments constitutionally responsible for health care work in collaboration with local police forces through the health care system to achieve better practices when dealing with persons having mental health problems and illnesses, outside of the police being the first and only line of response.

RECOMMENDATION 2

The Committee recommends that the House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights consider performing a study into the economics of the judicial system, cost drivers, excessive administrative burden, and its effects on the costs of policing in Canada.

RECOMMENDATION 3

As First Nations policing that is culturally appropriate has been proven to have a higher success rate for public safety, the Committee recommends that the Government of Canada continue to work with First Nations communities, to further develop models which provide culturally appropriate policing and public safety programming.

RECOMMENDATION 4

The Committee recommends that the Government of Canada continue to work with Aboriginal and First Nation leaders to build upon the results achieved through the First Nations Policing Program, continue to facilitate the sharing of best practices, and to explore opportunities to share training infrastructure.

RECOMMENDATION 5

The Committee encourages governments responsible for the administration of policing to work together to seek consensus in defining the core policing duties in Canada, and consider what services currently executed by police forces could be better done by other governmental and non-governmental organizations.

RECOMMENDATION 6

The Committee recommends that police forces consider greater inter-agency cooperation with respect to the sharing of facilities and equipment and integration of staff from the health and policing sectors in certain circumstances.

RECOMMENDATION 7

The Committee recommends that Canada build on its excellent reputation for highly trained police forces through the further integration of e-learning as a cost effective way of executing some of the in-class training required.

RECOMMENDATION 8

The Committee recommends that police forces continue to consider ways of revenue generation above and beyond government funding, while ensuring no possible conflicts of interest.

RECOMMENDATION 9

The Committee recommends that police forces consider methods of tiered policing, which may include but are not limited to, replacing fully trained police officers with civilian employees where appropriate, and the use of special constables, auxiliary constables and volunteers in non-core policing functions. It is the Committee’s opinion that not all duties which police are called upon to complete require a badge and gun, and this can contribute to unnecessary costs. The Committee further recommends that use of the private sector be considered for non-core policing requirements where possible. Full and careful consideration should be given to the implications for training and accountability standards in all cases.

RECOMMENDATION 10

The Committee recommends that Public Safety Canada lead coordination and expand upon a central database of information sharing between police forces to allow the sharing of best practices and regional research.

RECOMMENDATION 11

The Committee recognizes that crime prevention and early intervention have social and economic benefits and recommends that the Government of Canada continue to make investments in these areas.

RECOMMENDATION 12

The Committee agrees that issues of mental health and addiction are an increasing challenge to the work of police officers, and recognizes the success of the community mobilization model (also known as the HUB and COR model) in reducing crime rates, reducing calls for service, and allowing police officers to focus on core policing responsibilities.

RECOMMENDATION 13

The Committee recommends that police forces seriously consider developing more innovative and community-driven collaboration of agencies, such as Community Mobilization Prince Albert, or the general HUB and COR principle highlighted within this study.