Use of Carotid Control Technique

Date: March 22, 2021
Classification: Unclassified
Fully releasable (ATIP)? Yes
Branch / Agency: RCMP

Proposed Response:

Background:

The RCMP responds to an average of 2.8 million calls for service each year. Applications of intervention account for one in every 1,064 RCMP calls for service, or 0.1 per cent. That means that 99.9 per cent of RCMP occurrences are resolved naturally or with communication/de-escalation. Overall, there was a 44 per cent decline in the rate of intervention being applied from 2010 to 2019, with 2019 (0.073 per cent) marking the lowest rate of intervention over a ten-year period. 

Carotid Control / Vascular Neck Restraint (VNR)

The Carotid Control Technique (CCT) is not a chokehold. The technique, when applied properly and per training, does not restrict breathing, and does not put any pressure on the windpipe. It applies pressure to both sides of a person’s neck, without restricting the airway. It may cause, but not always, a very brief period of unconsciousness that allows the police officer to safely place the individual in handcuffs. Every member must re-certify in the CCT every three years. RCMP officers will only use the CCT in a defensive manner, when protecting against a threat of grievous bodily harm or death, or a situation similar to where lethal force could be used, but that intervention is deemed inappropriate at that time based on the totality of the situation. Use of force reporting shows that the CCT is used an average of 36 times per year.

Medical research indicates that, when properly applied, the carotid control/VNR technique is neither likely nor intended to cause serious medical outcomes.Footnote1,Footnote2

Since 2012, a mandatory RCMP provincial/territorial review is initiated whenever the technique is applied to someone that is not presenting a threat of grievous bodily harm or death. These reviews are conducted at the provincial/territorial level by RCMP officers from that jurisdiction’s criminal operations directorate, and includes RCMP subject matter experts in the use of police intervention, or police intervention trainers.

In an effort to strengthen oversight, in September 2020, a new process was implemented at National Headquarters (NHQ).  As part of this process, all uses of the carotid control/VNR technique are now flagged by NHQ and sent back to the RCMP province/territory in which the incident took place for supplemental review and any actions reviewers deem necessary.

Carotid Control Review

On June 9, 2020, Commissioner Lucki confirmed that the RCMP would examine the use of the CCT and a review is ongoing. The RCMP is participating in a study with a group of experienced police use of force researchers, including both criminologists and physicians, to provide a valid estimate of the incidence of injuries related to the CCT/VNR technique. The RCMP’s involvement in this study will provide objective medical evidence of the risks and benefits of this intervention. This is critical to making evidence-based policy decisions on whether to continue teaching the technique, and if so, under what circumstances it should be employed. Information on the researchers and the results of the study will be shared when it is complete, which is anticipated to be late in 2021. Based on the existing research, policy, and training, as well as the robust oversight and accountability measures in place for the CCT/VNR, the RCMP will wait until the international medical safety study (as referenced above) is completed, prior to making a decision on whether to continue teaching the CCT/VNR, and if so, under what circumstances it should be employed.

Knee on Neck Technique

The knee to the neck technique is not carotid control and should not be confused with carotid control. Carotid control does not include the use of the legs for restraint. The RCMP does not teach or endorse any technique where RCMP officers place a knee on the head or neck. This applies to the teaching of cadets at the RCMP Academy, Depot Division, as well as in-service training and police intervention re-certification. Since this technique is not taught or endorsed by the RCMP, RCMP officers should not be using it.

Crisis Intervention and De-escalation

Police officers are often the first responders on scene when someone is experiencing a mental health crisis. Police officers are not medical professionals and cannot diagnose individuals. However, it is important for the police to have an understanding of mental health illnesses, including signs and symptoms of distress, in order to conduct effective risk assessments and de-escalate a mental health crisis, wherever it is tactically feasible.

Through crisis intervention and de-escalation techniques, many mental health crisis situations can be managed with decreased risk to the public and police officers. The RCMP has strengthened crisis intervention and de-escalation training for all its officers. Since 2016 an online training course on Crisis Intervention and De-escalation has been mandatory for all RCMP officers. The course takes approximately three-hours and is available through the RCMP’s E-learning portal. This mandatory training helps police officers determine when and how to use crisis intervention and de-escalation techniques and complements what cadets learn at Depot as well as other training offered in RCMP divisions and detachments.

The purpose of the course is to ensure that RCMP officers will be able to use crisis intervention and de-escalation (CID) techniques, when tactically feasible, to effectively manage these situations, including incidents involving a mental health crisis. The course includes a module on some major mental health illnesses and their observable behaviours, which can assist police officers in tailoring their approach to the person in crisis. Crisis intervention and de-escalation training is now being incorporated into annual Incident Management Intervention Model (IMIM) training. Further, scenarios involving crisis intervention and de-escalation training are in place as a part of regular operational skills maintenance training.

Contacts:

Prepared by: Alicia LaPierre, Junior Policy Analyst, Strategic Policy, Contract and Indigenous Policing, RCMP; (613)-371-7696
Approved by: Brian Brennan, Deputy Commissioner, Contract and Indigenous Policing, RCMP; 613-843-4632

Footnotes:

  1. 1

    Hall, C. A., & Butler, C. (2007). National Study on Neck Restraint in Policing: Canadian Police Research Centre. https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/lbrr/archives/cnmcs-plcng/cn95961308-eng.pdf

  2. 2

    Mitchell, J. R., Roach, D. E., Tyberg, J. V., Belenkie, I., & Sheldon, R. S. (2012). Mechanism of loss of consciousness during vascular neck restraint. Journal of applied physiology, 112(3), 396-402

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