Nova Scotia RCMP say all emergency alerts issued have met required sending criteria

Nova Scotia RCMP has ramped up its use of emergency alerts since the mass shooting in April 2020, which resulted in the deaths of 22 people and an unborn child. 

There have been multiple sent out over the years since the tragedy and on Monday, the police force sent out two emergency alerts: one in Pictou, Antigonish and Colchester counties to notify the public of a man who allegedly assaulted someone with an axe in Thornburn and was on the loose. And another in Halifax Regional Municipality to notify people of a man who allegedly hit a woman with his vehicle and drove off. 

Both alerts were cancelled later in the day following the arrest of each suspect. 

According to Nova Scotia RCMP, concern for public safety prompted each emergency alert. 

In regards to the Thorburn incident, Cpl. Chris Marshall, public information officer for Nova Scotia RCMP, said RCMP believed there was a public safety risk. 

When it came to the situation unfolding in Cole Harbour, investigators initially requested information about the suspect’s vehicle be published in an effort to locate it and the driver. After identifying the driver, RCMP determined the suspect may pose a risk to the public and sent out an emergency alert. 

Mixed reviews

The emergency alerts in both communities drew criticism and support from people on social media. Some questioned if there was a need for the danger alerts as both incidents were believed to be targeted and not random. Others praised the RCMP for sending out the alerts, saying they would rather the police force be safe than sorry. 

Emergency alerts have been top of mind of people in Nova Scotia following the mass shooting on April 18 and 19, 2020, when the RCMP failed to use the Alert Ready system as a gunman went on a 13-hour rampage.

In 2021, the Nova Scotia RCMP was granted direct access to civil emergency alert types in the Alert Ready system by the Nova Scotia Emergency Management Office. 

Insp. Matco Sirotic, officer in charge of policy for Nova Scotia RCMP, said the RCMP established policy related to police-initiated emergency alerts at both a national and divisional level in March 2022. However, the Nova Scotia division has since updated its policy as recently as April 2023. 

“The Nova Scotia RCMP uses emergency alerts in situations where an emergent or active incident may put the public in direct harm and there is an urgent need to ensure the public is informed of a threat and provided any applicable directions to mitigate public safety concerns,” Sirotic said. 

“An alert may only be issued when investigators believe it will not jeopardize public or officer safety.”

Sirotic said Nova Scotia RCMP must have specific information, such as the type of incident, location and people involved, in order to be able to send out an emergency alert. 

‘Sufficient’ resources

During the Mass Casualty Commission, members of the Nova Scotia RCMP expressed their concerns about how emergency dispatchers may be overwhelmed with an influx of calls from the public. 

Sirotic said there “is always an impact to resources when an emergency alert is issued,” especially in the Operational Communications Centre, but said everything has been “effectively managed and our resourcing has been sufficient.” 

The possibility of alerting fatigue was also raised at the Mass Casualty Commission, where public communications experts from around the world weighed in. 

Tim Trytten, a public emergency warning consultant in Canada and former leader of the Alberta Emergency Alert program, said there are four criteria that must be met before an emergency alert is sent out on all channels:  

• There must be an extreme event that is an egregious threat to public safety. 
• The risk must be immediate.
• There are no other ways to get the information out.
• The alert could provide critical life-saving information. 

“These four criteria must be met, otherwise we get into the alert (fatigue), where we’re starting to fire alerts for a BOLO, be on the lookout, for those kinds of things,” Trytten said during a roundtable discussion at the Mass Casualty Commission on May 12, 2022. 

Trytten said officials who use emergency alert systems “have to play the ‘what happens next’ game.” 

“Issuing an alert to all people for something that doesn’t directly affect them is likely to produce some kind of pushback. And that’s a problem,” he said. 

Expectation of warning

But Michael Hallowes, the former national director of Australia’s emergency alert program, said during his research done in 2014, there was “absolutely no evidence” of alerting fatigue. 

Hallowes said there was clear evidence, however, that the public has an expectation of being warned. 

Trytten said the alert issuer will never have all of the information that is needed when sending out an alert, but the message can be corrected as things progress and an apology can be issued. 

“I can’t apologize for not saying anything,” Trytten said. 

Sirotic said the Nova Scotia RCMP monitors its use of the Alert Ready system, and a review is done by the force following each alert, which the RCMP uses to continue to update protocols and policies. A report is also sent to the Nova Scotia Emergency Management Office.

“With regard to potential concerns about overuse of the Alert Ready system, to date, all emergency alerts issued by the Nova Scotia RCMP have met the criteria required to issue an emergency alert,” Sirotic said.