New federal investments to provide support for new tools and knowledge to better support law enforcement and protect Canadians
July 30, 2015
TORONTO – Associate Minister of National Defence Julian Fantino, today announced ten innovative new projects to support the law enforcement community across Canada – including two aimed at countering radicalization among young Canadians. The projects were announced as part of a $12 million investment funded through the Canadian Safety and Security Program (CSSP).
The first two projects will combat radicalization. The first will assess challenges and barriers facing young adults who could be at risk of violence and radicalization to develop effective community- based strategies to prevent such radicalization and stop these youth from following the path of ISIS and other extremist organizations. The second will lead an effort to better understand the various mechanisms – online or otherwise – through which Canadian youth and others are led to such radical and extremist views. Such information will be used to better manage and prevent such threats.
Funding will also be allocated for two projects focusing on further supporting law enforcement dealing with growing and emerging issues. This includes enhancing the capabilities of an existing telerobotics system used to remotely dismantle bombs and other Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) from a safe distance, as well as supporting the development of solutions against intrusions into restricted airspace and other illegal action by individuals using small unmanned aircraft systems (e.g. drones).
Three more projects will help develop additional support systems for law enforcement involved in Canada’s border security. Of these, two will aim to make screening for travelers more quick and efficient by enhancing data analysis to improve the flow of low-risk goods and travelers, and demonstrating how smartphone technologies can enhance early screening of travelers. A third project will aim to accelerate the flow of commercial goods and other cargo by examining the use of imagery technology to better screen hazardous material remotely.
Three additional projects will seek to assist law enforcement by improving the use of modern communications technology. By directly supporting law enforcement battling cybercrime and cyberterrorism, one project will support the development and implementation of a web-crawler system to search anonymous and dark regions of the Internet. The two other projects will aim to improve data storage and information-sharing technologies through the study of Cloud-based computing and centralized data storage in law enforcement – including the modernization of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP)’s Suspicious Incident Reporting system, which gathers information about suspicious incidents that may have a nexus to national security, to better enable information sharing.
Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC) – Department of National Defence Media Relations Office
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Public Safety Canada – Media Relations
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For more information, please visit the website www.publicsafety.gc.ca
