Date of Conferral

2022

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Criminal Justice

Advisor

Stephen A. Morreale

Abstract

AbstractResponding to First Nation occupations and protests is one of the most challenging duties that police officers in Canada undertake. Over the last 30 years, these types of incidents have resulted in deaths and injuries to police and protesters, and millions of dollars’ worth of damage and financial loss. After the 1995 shooting death of an unarmed Indigenous protester by police at the Ipperwash occupation, the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) introduced an unconventional operational approach for protests known as the OPP Framework policy. That approach was built on the concepts of peacekeeping, patient negotiation, mutual respect, and the minimal use of force, and only as a last resort. To address a gap in academic literature pertaining to officers’ perceptions of the Framework, data for this qualitative phenomenological research study were collected using interviews of 23 participants and analysis of archival records. Despite public criticism of the Framework approach, participants overwhelmingly supported it, highlighting the OPP Provincial Liaison Team members’ work in building strong relationships and trust with First Nations as its greatest strength. Those relationships enabled police to resolve more than 700 Indigenous critical incidents without having to resort to the use of force. In order to enhance the policy’s public perception and operational effectiveness, participants suggested improvements in training and education, internal and external communication, clarifying the role of government, and addressing public concerns about two-tiered policing. The study findings have potential implications for positive social change by averting or mitigating future protests and by altering negative the public perception of the Framework’s conciliatory and rights-based approach to resolving conflict.

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