Report calls for expanded Cdn Police Research Centre

A new report calls for an expanded mandate for the Canadian Police Research Centre (CPRC) to address the technology and R&D needs of the broader first responders community. Jointly commissioned by CPRC and the Canadian Advanced Technology Alliance (CATA), the report recommends a centralized research facility to provide knowledge and expertise to first responders, development of product and service standards, product evaluation in operational settings and access to market intelligence and trends. Entitled Keeping Canadians Safe: A Technology, Research and Development, and Emergency Preparedness Situational Analysis of Canadian First Responders, the report cites natural disasters, fire and epidemic/pandemic events as the top risks to Canadians' safety. CPRC was recently spun out of the National Research Council (where it was a joint venture with the RCMP). It is now managed by Defence Research and Development Canada's Centre for Security Science — a joint initiative with Public Safety Canada....