Geographical Firearms Profile Reporting (Details)

Name of province/ territory:

Ontario

City/ Region:

Canada

Description of Initiative:

The Geographical Firearms Profile (GFP) Reporting initiative is a firearms information tool for law enforcement and is part of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Canadian Firearms Program (CFP).

The CFP combats the illicit movement of firearms and provides support and training to police and the criminal justice system. It also manages the universal licensing of firearms users, a system that supports the individual use of firearms for hunting and various recreational purposes. The CFP also maintains national firearms safety training standards: over one million Canadians have now completed the CFP’s Canadian Firearms Safety Course. All information is recorded for public safety purposes in the Canadian Firearms Information System, which is managed by the RCMP.

As part of the CFP, the GFP report provides Canadian law enforcement organizations with factual and timely statistical information regarding firearms in their jurisdictions, to assist with strategic and investigative decision making. It includes statistics for the specific jurisdiction, related to the number of firearms, the number of firearms owners, and firearms incidents. The GFP report also provides a statistical summary of the number of firearms licences that have been revoked for public safety reasons within the particular jurisdiction.

The report is updated and distributed by e-mail every quarter at no cost to the requesting police services.

The CFP is undertaking an initiative to further expand distribution of this report through existing partnerships with Canadian law enforcement organizations and associations.

Initiative Key Objectives:

This initiative is intended to meet the needs of Canadian police services through the provision of meaningful firearms information, which will make communities safer.

Section Responsible for Implementation:

Specialized Policing Services—Canadian Firearms Program

Key Contact:

Scott A. McDougall
scott.mcdougall@rcmp-grc.gc.ca

Groups/ Agencies/ Key Partners Involved:

• other police services
• civilian governing authorities
• Involvement by Canadian police services and other law enforcement organizations is consultative. The Canadian Association of Police Governance has also been engaged and is supportive.

Level of Involvement (consultative - information sharing) and/or cooperative - direct involvement):

N/A

Amount of Time Initiative has been in Place:

The CFP has been actively distributing the GFP report to the requesting police services across Canada since 2009.

Reason for Undertaking the Initiative:

This initiative was undertaken to address public safety concerns with respect to firearms and ensure that Canadian police services have access to relevant statistical information pertaining to firearms for their jurisdictions.

Resources Required to Implement this Initiative:

This initiative was implemented using the RCMP Canadian Firearms Program's existing business intelligence/reporting capability and did not require additional funding.

Method of Implementation:

This initiative is an expansion of the CFP's services.

Key Outcomes of the Initiative:

The GFP contributes to a general reduction in harm from firearms in Canadian communities, as measured by Statistics Canada.

Availability of a Communication Strategy:

Yes

Key Messages used to Publicize the Initiative:

The GFP report provides Canadian law enforcement organizations with factual and timely statistical information regarding firearms in their jurisdictions in order to assist with strategic and investigative decision making. It includes statistics for the specific jurisdiction related to the number of firearms, the number of firearms owners, and firearms incidents.

The GFP report also provides a statistical summary of the number of firearms licences that have been revoked for public safety reasons within the particular jurisdiction.

Forms of Evaluation by which the Initiative will be Assessed:

• quantitative

Evaluation Completed or Community Feedback Received:

No

Summary of the Outcomes:

N/A

Summary of the Performance Measure Data Collected:

N/A

Economics of Policing Pillars:

• Efficiencies within Police Services
• New Models of Community Safety

Further Details:

N/A

Additional Comments or Suggestions:

Firearms statistics enable police services to focus their investigative efforts in certain areas and carry out more efficient investigations.

Record Entry Date:

2015-03-01