Semple | Can-SEBP

SCHOLAR'S CORNER

Carleton University

Research Interests:

I am interested in exploring anything related to police use of force and de-escalation. I am particularly interested in police response to persons with a mental illness or people in crisis, as well as the development and implementation of police training aimed at enhancing officer performance.

Current Projects:

Currently I am evaluating a health care-led/police-supported proactive Crisis Outreach and Support Team implemented in London, Ontario aimed at enhancing the service provided to individuals in the community who have serious mental health concerns or who are at risk of experiencing a crisis that brings them into contact with police. This is a multi-study project aimed at examining the extent to which the team operates as it intends to and is achieving its objectives. Additionally, I am involved in a project with a police service examining the extent to which officers use de-escalation strategies in the field, as well as the extent to which they perceive these strategies to be effective.

Relevance of Current Projects:

The main goal of my work is to produce research that helps police agencies provide better service to the Canadians they serve. My work consistently involves working with police agencies in order to understand the impact of what they are doing, as well as to try to integrate any findings with previous research to produce recommendations that are likely to improve practice. Overall, I try to do research that is practical and useful to police agencies by taking the time to try to understand the operational realities that agencies face and by working with police practitioners to produce research.

Previous Projects working with Police:

I worked with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police as a student research analyst from September 2017 to August 2020 where I worked on a variety of different projects which were generally related to use of force training.
I worked with the South Simcoe Police Service to do a quantitative evaluation of their Crisis Outreach and Support (COAST) team which pairs a crisis worker and a police officer and responds to mental health-related calls for service.
I have worked also worked with the Ottawa Police Service. Alongside my supervisor, we reviewed their de-escalation training and provided recommendations on how it may be modified to improve knowledge and skill acquisition, retention, and transfer.