PURCHASE OF ARMOURED VEHICLE FOR THE TACTICAL UNIT

RECOMMENDATION

That the Ottawa Police Services Board approve the purchase of the LENCO G3 BearCat armoured rescue vehicle for use by the Tactical Unit from LENCO (Pittsfield, Massachusetts, USA) at a cost of $341,147.00 (CDN).

BACKGROUND

Police are being called upon to safely and effectively resolve increasingly complex and challenging situations. This coupled with the growing number of incidents involving firearms has added to the risks facing officers every day.

The City of Ottawa is the seat of Canadian government and home to a large number of embassies and consulates from around the world. Although Parliament Hill and the embassies are the responsibility of the RCMP, Ottawa Police will be on the front lines of any tactical response to those facilities.

In addition to these responsibilities, one of the OPS Tactical Unit’s core functions is to execute high-risk search and arrest warrants in support of the service’s investigative units such as Guns and Gangs, the Drug Unit, Major Crime, Repeat Offender Parole Enforcement (ROPE) and the Provincial Weapons Enforcement Unit.

Barricaded person calls present unique risks and challenges to the Tactical Unit and Incident Commanders. Communication is always the greatest hurdle that needs to be overcome when dealing with barricaded individuals or emotionally disturbed persons. An armoured vehicle provides a secure observation platform and negotiation post if other attempts at communication have failed.

Should an officer or civilian be injured during any OPS call for service or warrant operation, a rescue would be carried out using an armoured vehicle platform, which would mitigate the danger in these situations. This would provide responding officers and paramedics with ballistic protection and cover that far exceeds the current level provided by our ballistic blankets.

The Tactical Unit routinely escorts high-risk prisoners. These persons may be members of organized crime groups providing evidence as Crown witnesses and may be the target of these groups seeking to prevent them from testifying. Persons in custody for high profile, particularly violent crimes may be the target of vigilantes or attempt escape. The use of an armoured vehicle would afford the OPS with safe and secure transport of high-risk prisoners reducing the risk to the public, police and prisoners.

As the Ottawa Police are the first responders to an incident at the Ottawa International Airport, the Tactical Unit is tasked with an immediate response capability in the event of a hostage taking, violent domestic or mentally disturbed person on an aircraft. An armoured vehicle is the ideal platform from which to initiate a crisis intervention. Such a ladder platform also can be adapted to situations requiring high angle tactical access to target structures.

The operational intent of acquiring an armoured vehicle is to deploy the asset whenever the Incident Commander believes it is operationally prudent to do so. We do not intend to operate the armoured vehicle as a patrol vehicle as it is not designed for that purpose.

DISCUSSION

The safety and security of our officers and members of the public has always been paramount for the Ottawa Police Service. The acquisition of an armoured rescue vehicle for the Ottawa Police Service in general, and the Tactical Unit in particular, will only serve to advance that commitment to the community and to our members. The ability to advance on unknown threats from a safe and secure platform would be an unprecedented tactical advantage for our officers.

As part of an external consultation, numerous police services from across the country were contacted. The services that were chosen were police services approximately the same size as Ottawa or they were the larger services in their province. All services were asked the same questions, which included whether they had an armoured vehicle in their inventory or had access to an armoured vehicle if the need arose. A total of 27 Canadian police services were contacted, 9 have armoured vehicles and 4 have access to a vehicle if required. The RCMP is in the process of acquiring armoured vehicles for deployment to the 2010 Olympic Games, after which an armoured vehicle may be deployed to the National Capital Region. The Ottawa Police Service explored partnering with the RCMP on a purchase or a joint agreement of use; however, their specifications and the units they are purchasing have configuration and operational requirements that are different from ours.

After speaking with numerous police services, there were several recommendations that were received about armoured vehicle manufacturers. It was suggested that we concentrate our energy on manufacturers that have been in business for a long period of time, have high corporate standards and have an excellent reputation in the industry for producing top quality products. One Canadian and three U.S. manufacturers were identified. All four were visited within the last 18 months.

The research team has recommended the selection of the LENCO BearCat G3 model, which meets all operational and security requirements identified by the team.

FINANCIAL STATEMENT

In consultation with Dan Farrell, City of Ottawa, Program Manager, Purchasing, sole sourcing for this purchase has been approved due to the security concerns associated with this type of vehicle.

The cost of the vehicle from LENCO is $311,000 USD excluding GST. Using the August 27, 2009 exchange rate, this would convert to $339,369 CDN. There is also a duty charge of $1,778.00 CDN. Total cost of the vehicle is estimated at $341,147 CDN.

Funds in the amount of $350,000 CDN have been designated under project 904678. The surplus will allow for any fluctuation in the exchange rate from now until the time of purchase. This vehicle has a 20 year replacement cycle. The manufacturer has informed us that there is a 3 month delivery timeline.

CONCLUSION

The focus of acquiring an armoured vehicle has always been and will continue to be public and officer safety. Such a platform enables our officers to safely engage many different types of threats in many different types of environments. The acquisition of a LENCO G3 BearCat armoured rescue vehicle will aid in the service’s ability to risk manage potentially dangerous situations where at present less than ideal solutions exist.

(original signed by)

Vern White

Chief of Police