PSSC 121 (10-23-2025)

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Chapter 10: Operational Support

Slide 3: Operational Support

  • Operational support units offer specialized support to enable investigators and general duty officers to complete their tasks.

    • Integrated into departments in several ways (not always as distinct units)

    • May be civilian or sworn members

    • They are unique because their purpose is specialized support to enable investigators and general-duty officers to complete their tasks and investigate offences.

    • Do not lead investigations, recommend charges, or solve cases.s

Slide 4: Cover Teams: Surveillance

  • Surveillance: may be used to follow a suspect who is of key interest in a crime, or a group of people involved in organized crime or gang activity

    • Intrusivesurveillancece

      • Monitoring through hidden cameras or listening devices

        • Requires specific warrants

    • Directed surveillance

      • Covert observation is not considered to be intrusive

        • Generally directed at particular individuals

        • Example: The bait car program

    • Covert human intelligence

      • developing personal relationships with suspects to secure information

Slide 5: Visual Surveillance

  • Visual surveillance requires that suspects be followed in real time

  • This surveillance takes time, patience, and a great deal of training to ensure that the suspect or suspects do not know they are being followed and surveilled

    • Smaller departments may require that their lead investigators conduct their own surveillance and act in a covert role if needed for their investigation

    • Often includes undercover officers and unmarked vehicles to follow suspects physically

    • The only effect on suspects is that they are not aware they are being surveilled (significant training is needed)

Slide 6: Audio Surveillance

  • Officers can listen away from the location of the suspect, generally within the police building or other secure location

    • 24 hours/day

    • relevant conversations are transcribed for the investigators to read and review for key pieces of evidence

  • Audio surveillance involves wiretap investigations

    • Warrants required → Part VI in the Criminal Code of Canada will outline what and whom may be listened to, how long their conversations may be taped and monitored, and what topics or information are to be gathered

  • New technology and new challenges

    • Example: the stingray

Slide 7/8: Special Equipment and Tactics Teams

  • Emergency Response: called in to respond to high-risk or dangerous situations

    • serving high-risk warrants to individuals known to be violent or in possession of weapons

    • situations in which an individual has taken a hostage or is threatening the lives of others

  • Emergency response teams spend a great deal of time physically training to deal with violent and high-risk individuals

    • automatic rifles and other high-powered devices

    • rappelling and other entry techniques

  • Flight Support: will be called out for situations that would benefit from a birds-eye view of events, such as vehicle pursuits, traffic issues, fleeing suspects, or riot situations

    • Example: Saskatoon Police Service’s Air Support Unit is equipped with heat sensors and technology

  • Marine Units: support water patrol activities, as well as specialized search and dive operations

    • May also train officers in dive operations and SCUBA

    • Example: RCMP’s Underwater Recovery Team

Slide 9: Forensic Services

  • Forensic means “as applied to law”

    • Reality: Although police departments do operate forensic science services, the reality is often far different from the television version

  • Forensics in the police department fall into one of two broad categories

    • human forensics: trace evidence, which has had some human contact or is biological in nature

    • digital forensics: aimed primarily at computer and electronic devices

Slide 10: Human Forensics

  • Integrates biology, chemistry, and toxicology

    • may require hundreds of samples from a crime scene

    • may look for trace evidence that links the offender to the victim and/or the crime scene

  • Chemistry: trace evidence that is not bodily fluid (gunshot, residue, etc.)

  • Toxicology: examining bodily fluids to identify toxic substances

  • Locard’s Exchange Principle: every contact leaves a trace

    • Example: paint traces left at a hit-and-run

Slide 11: Firearms, Bullets, and Toolmarks

  • Specimens that are not biological:

    • This position requires a background in chemistry and/or physics

    • A great deal of additional training is needed beyond the academic degrees in this area

  • Analysis of weapons or tools used in an offence

    • Firearms examiners: comparing firearms and bullets, distance, and trajectory

  • Many small departments may contract with larger departments to provide these services

    • Some departments, most notably the RCMP, also operate the laboratories that analyze samples and provide expert scientific testimony.

  • Training: Forensic Identification Course at the Canadian Police College in Ottawa

Slide 12: Other Forensic Services

  • Forensic odontologists examine teeth and bite marks

  • Forensic anthropologists examine skeletal remains

  • Forensic artists assist in identification by producing, manipulating or constructing identities of victims or suspects from eyewitness testimony or human remains.s

  • Forensic entomologists: use insects gathered from a decomposing body to determine the time of death on human remains

Slide 13: Digital Forensics

  • Digital forensics is a relatively new area, but it has grown exponentially in criminal investigations.

    • Larger police departments will often have an in-house video analysis unit responsible for collecting, authenticating, and analyzing video images.

    • Investigators must extract and analyze large volumes of data from electronic devices.

Slide 14: Digital Forensics: Extraction of Digital Evidence

  • The extraction of digital evidence often requires a specialist or technologist.t

    • A warrant may be required, particularly for “locked” cell phones or laptops.

    • The backlog for analysis of electronic devices can be significant and may lead to investigation delays.

Slide 15: Administrative Support: Property Management

  • Police may seize, find, or gather property as part of an investigation or during the course of their everyday duties if they observe abandoned or stolen items

    • may or may not be linked to the crime

    • Collected to avoid missing evidence

  • The property must be entered into the database or police records system, along with its description. This event is connected to the officer who seized it, as well as other important information.

    • Must be easily searched, tracked, and retrieved for court if necessary

Slide 16: Administrative Support: Records Management

  • All police services maintain both electronic and physical records

    • Electronic databases are steadily replacing paper reports

      • Most police continue to use paper notebooks for their field notes

      • Often amasses a large amount of information during an investigation

Slide 17: Records Management Systems (RMS)

  • Records management system (RMS)

    • Information entered into a centralized recording system (often by civilian members)

    • PRIME: Police Records Information Management Environment

  • Key roles of records departments:

    • Transcribing officers ’notes or interview tapes

    • Controlling the quality of file information 

    • Ensuring all case documents are assembled, scanned, and logged for court

Slide 18: Emergency Management Services

  • Emergency management services (EMS): the response and organization of requests for emergency assistance during an incident

  • Public calls to 911:

    • The communications centre provides one of the most vital and fast-paced roles in the department

    • Maybe uniformed members, civilians, or third-party service providers

    • The goal is to gather precise information about the type and location of the crime to determine the appropriate police presence  required.

Slide 19: Emergency Management Services: Dispatchers

  • A dispatcher’s top priority when an emergency call is received is to obtain a precise location and a description of the incident 

    • allows the dispatcher to know what type of response is necessary (police, fire, ambulance), and how many units may be required

  • Violent incidents that are occurring at that moment are given the highest priority response, typically recorded as Priority 1

  • The particular police department’s policy guides all dispatch operations

    • Example: attendance at all motor vehicle accidents vs. only when there are injuries 

Slide 20: Emergency Management Services: MWS (Mobile Work Station)

  • When officers are outside of their vehicles, they do not have ready  access to their mobile work station (MWS)

  • By being able to request information from the communications centre, they can still benefit from all the intelligence contained in the databases without having to be in their vehicle

    • Information about a person, vehicle, or specific address

  • Safety Checks: Communications operators may provide a valuable safety check for officers by maintaining a verbal connection to their whereabouts and their actions