The Emergency Response Team (ERT; ) are police tactical units of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police based throughout Canada and are mainly part-time teams. According to the RCMP, the ERT "is a group of highly-trained RCMP members capable of employing specialized weapons, equipment, and tactics to resolve extremely high-risk situations." The ERT is also mandated to assess the situation and determine whether extreme danger or the presence of small arms cannot be easily resolved by RCMP officers on general duties or by other police forces throughout Canada. The ERT offers consulting services to its fellow officers such as firearms files and shootings that involve police officers.
ERTs operate as a floating work-site team, which allows them to be called up for duty from their residences and not in an RCMP office. They also operate under a threat-based priority system if multiple emergency calls require ERT presence. ERT teams are legally bound to operate in Canada and overseas when required.
History
The RCMP established the ERT in 1977 in 31 centres throughout Canada, which operates under a geographical basis. The creation of the ERT was modeled after the RCMP's Hostage Assault and Rescue Program. Because of the problem in geography, which prevents the RCMP from pooling their resources to respond to a Canada-wide incident, the Canadian government initially mandated the creation of the Special Emergency Response Team or SERT on January 22, 1986 with 51 officers being trained for SERT duties as the unit would operate in circumstances where local police forces do not have enough resources to resolve the incident. The SERT was eventually disbanded in 1993 since they were not suited for quasi-military operations with problems on whether lethal force is necessary or not, given its RCMP status.
The Marine Security Emergency Response Teams were created as a part of the ERT in 2006 with initial training in the waters of British Columbia as a key component of the Critical Incident Program to ensure ERT operators are fully prepared to respond to calls when a situation develops in the marine environment. MSERT teams were involved in protecting participants and the public during the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver, BC.
The ERT received armoured vehicles from the RCMP as a means of bolstering their effectiveness in the field. Surplus AVGP Cougars were handed to the ERTs in 2010 as a means of transporting ERT operators in situation where firearms are known to be involved. These vehicles are used without any turrets or other offensive weapons as they were removed prior to ERT adoption since they are used for transportation purposes only. They were first used by RCMP ERT teams to bust a drug grow op in Chilliwack, BC.
In 2012, the RCMP and Navistar Defense Canada Inc. worked together to create their own armoured vehicles for the ERTs when RCMP Assistant Commissioner Russ Mirasty, commanding officer of the RCMP’s for F division in Saskatchewan, unveiled them to the public. Known as the Tactical Armored Vehicle, these were made at the cost of US$14,019,826 with a working lifespan of 15 years. 18 TAVs were delivered to various ERTs throughout Canada as their main support vehicle when on call.
Qualifications
Prospective male and female ERT operator candidates are required to have two years of operational experience in the RCMP, as well as to score a total of 225 or more at their PPC qualifications. ERT operator candidates are also required to attend to psychological evaluations to weed out candidates who have problems working in environments that involve confined spaces, height or water. Candidates are allowed into ERT operational service once he or she completes a nine-week ERT course in Ottawa, which consists of theoretical, firearms and tactical training.
ERT operators are required to do training when not on duty, which consist of daily training for full-time ERT operators and a minimum of two days for part-time ERT operators.
Training
Before the timed obstacle was implemented on April 1, 2009, ERT operator candidates are required to pass a physical training exam that consists of a 1.5 mile run in under 11 minutes, 40 consecutive and uninterrupted pushups, 40 sit-ups in one minute, 5 wide-grip pull-ups and bench press with a weight of 135 pounds.
ERT training consists of three blocks. They consist of the following: