Integrated National Security Enforcement Teams

"INSET" redirects here. For days in which British students do not attend school, see Inset day.

Integrated National Security Enforcement Teams (INSET; French: Équipes intégrées de la sécurité nationale, EISN)[1] are Canadian counterterrorist, counter-foreign interference, and counter-espionage units operating under the auspices of Public Safety Canada. These federal investigative teams were formed in 2002 in response to the September 11 attacks.[2]

Canadian provinces will have National Security Enforcement Sections (NSES) instead of an INSET in places that do not have a large city.[3]

Organization

INSET units are made up of personnel from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), and police forces at the municipal and provincial levels. These units are tasked with investigating criminal national security matters domestically and internationally.[2]

INSET units are known to operate in and around Toronto, Vancouver, Ottawa, Montreal, and Edmonton.[2]

Mandate

The mandate of INSET units is as follows:[2]

  1. Increase the capacity to collect, share and analyze intelligence among partners, with respect to targets (individuals) that are a threat to national security.
  2. To create an enhanced enforcement capacity to bring such targets to justice.
  3. Enhance partner agencies' collective ability to combat national security threats and meet specific mandate responsibilities.

History

INSET units were established in 2002 after the September 11 attacks. Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, and Vancouver NSES units were changed to be INSETs in response to the attacks.[4]

An INSET unit operating in Toronto played a major role in the capture of 17 terror suspects on June 2, 2006.[5] In 2012, INSETs were tasked to secure Albertan energy infrastructure from all attacks.[6]

On May 6, 2022, the RCMP announced that an INSET unit arrested an unnamed individual with officers from the Ontario Provincial Police Provincial Anti-Terrorism Section (OPP PATS) and the Windsor Police Service for contributing to terrorist activity.[7]

In April 2022, several unnamed RCMP officers resigned from an INSET unit after they were ordered to arrest a suspect by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service without being told why.[8]

On January 24, 2024, the Edmonton Police Service (EPS) is reportedly investigating a shooting incident at Edmonton City Hall concerning a Canadian Corps of Commissionaires (CCC) employee named Bezhani Sarvar alongside an INSET unit.[9]

See also

References

  1. ^ Rapport annuel de 2021 sur la Police fédérale de la GRC. rcmp-grc.gc.ca. Retrieved 2024-02-09
  2. ^ a b c d "Creation of an RCMP-led INSET in Alberta - Royal Canadian Mounted Police". Archived from the original on 2012-06-09.
  3. ^ "Mitigating the Threat Posed by Canadian Extremist Travellers". 21 December 2018.
  4. ^ https://revelstoke.civicweb.net/document/128486/Archived 2022-12-22 at the Wayback Machine [bare URL]
  5. ^ "Seventeen Arrested on Anti-Terrorism Charges". 3 June 2006.
  6. ^ Counter-terrorism unit to protect Alberta energy industry. cbc.ca. Retrieved 2024-02-09
  7. ^ "One individual charged with contributing to terrorist activity following an RCMP investigation | Royal Canadian Mounted Police". 6 May 2022.
  8. ^ "RCMP officers quit after being asked to arrest national security target with no details, report says". CBC News. 2022-04-28. Archived from the original on 2023-07-02.
  9. ^ "Edmonton City Hall shooting suspect was a security guard, released manifestos | Globalnews.ca".