The Ste. Anne Police Department is acquiring a carbine rifle and officers are taking special training in how to use it. Chief Marc Robichaud says this flows out of an RCMP report into an incident in New Brunswick in 2014 where three officers were gunned down. The report found the officers were outgunned in that situation, having to rely on shotguns and pistols. Robichaud says a carbine is a short-barrelled rifle that has a longer accurate range than a sidearm or shotgun.
Robichaud notes these rifles are just another item in their toolbox so that they are adequately prepared for any situation that might arise.
"Our focus on policing has tended to be on the short firearms, the handguns and a modicum of training in relation to shotguns. But, I think with the times and the type of area that we police, with a large rural area just outside of Ste. Anne that we may be called to, it's important that we have the tools to respond to any of call that we go to."
The Ste. Anne Police Department has also adopted new training to improve skills related to responding to critical incidents, including developing mandatory outdoor Immediate Action Rapid Deployment training and continual enhancement of annual firearms qualification to including dynamic movement.