Meet SPOT – WPS Introduces Radical Innovation with Alternative Funding
Chief Danny Smyth
This week’s Tried and True article focuses on innovation and some of the tools that improve police performance and officer safety. Robots have been deployed by police for nearly 50 years. In the past, they were most often used in the context of explosives. Small, tracked robots with cameras could be used to search, examine, and detonate explosive devises without risk to front-line or tactical officers. Over the years, robotic technology has improved in what could be described as incremental innovation. Robots became smaller, a little quicker, and started to be designed to simulate fine motor skills that involved grasping objects.
In 2015 these types of robots were used to assist in the investigation of a series of letter bombs that had been distributed to a number of locations in Winnipeg. One of those bombs severely injured and maimed lawyer Maria Mitousis at her law firm on River Avenue. This bombing set in motion a series of events where police robots were used to search for and detonate explosive devises in controlled settings.
Video footage captured two of these controlled explosions:
1. This clip is a recording of a controlled explosion at 575 Washington Avenue. The detonation was recorded by a Winnipeg Police robot.
2. The second clip is a controlled explosion outside a law firm at 280 Stradbrook. An RCMP robot retrieved the explosive devise from the law firm and carried it out to a nearby parking lot where the controlled explosion could be executed safely.
The WPS Major Crimes Unit ultimately charged Guido Amsel with multiple criminal offences, that occurred in December 2013 and three that occurred in July 2015, including the attempted murder of Maria Mitousis. These allegations arose within the context of ongoing legal proceedings between the accused and his former wife Iris Amsel. All four incidents involved explosive devices being placed at, or sent to locations connected to his former wife or to lawyers involved in their ongoing litigation.
On November 22, 2018, Amsel was convicted and sentenced to life in prison, with eligibility for parole delayed until he has served 10 years of his life sentence.
In late February 2022, the WPS acquired a new robot from Boston Dynamics. Boston Dynamics has advanced this robotic platform in a way that many would consider a radical innovation. WPS Inspector Brian Miln, who oversees the Service’s Specialty Units, provides a terrific overview of this acquisition in his article below.
Technological innovation can be very costly. The acquisition of SPOT came about through a criminal property forfeiture grant. Learn more about the forfeiture program from Melinda Murray the director of the program for the Province of Manitoba.
Spot – Robotic Platform by Boston Dynamics
Inspector Brian Miln, Uniform Operations/ Specialty Units
The men and women of the Winnipeg Police Service Tactical Support Team are asked to undertake daunting tasks on a daily basis. So much so, they get called upon when our regular front-line officers encounter situations beyond their normal training, duties and expertise.
This is really an eloquent way of saying our tactical team steps in and takes over in the worst of the worst situations. They track down and arrest the most violent of offenders and engage persons who are almost always armed and pose a high risk to the public, officers and themselves. The team resolves situations where persons have barricaded themselves inside dwellings, taken hostages and/or arrest persons wanted for the most violent of offences.
In a recent situation, homicide detectives got information on the location of a gang member (having, unfortunately, lived his whole life on the receiving and dispensing ends of extreme violence) who was wanted for the robbery, shooting and murder of a random stranger. Police had been trying to locate him for over 4 months, but he went into deep hiding. On the day in question, detectives got their lucky break. He was just seen inside a friend’s house, had a sawed-off shotgun in his possession and made comments he will not be going back to jail without a fight. The WPS tactical team was given the address, and a warrant to enter the house, and told to go get him. *
Being inside the security of a residence with walls, doors, and windows gives a big advantage to any suspect – tactical members nickname it the “stronghold.” When it comes to someone who is goal-driven, with the intent on escape and is facing a lengthy term of imprisonment, there isn’t much to lose.
The officer’s goals are the exact opposite - they want to attain the peaceful surrender of the suspect. This desired outcome drives every decision and tactic deployed by police.
The picture painted above is a dangerous mission; but not an uncommon one.
In 2020, the WPS faced 89 of these types of situations – that's about 1 every 4 days!
Now the TST is supported by way of meticulous and ongoing training, along with special tactics and equipment to help balance the scales. However, at some point, the police have to physically enter the house and clear it of threats and persons.
When doing so, one of the most dangerous elements is the opening of doorways and the crossing of thresholds. There is a reason entering through a doorway and crossing to the inside has been aptly named the “the fatal funnel.” As retired Master Trainer Brian Willis from PoliceMag explains:
· The "fatal funnel" is a term usually used pertaining to building-clearing operations. It refers to areas such as stairwells, hallways and doorways that are generally narrow, confining areas that offer little or no cover or concealment and potentially limit the officer's tactical options….
This is where all officers, especially tactical officers have few good options to make this necessary action safer. Spot, our newly acquired robotic platform, really shines in this area and offers multiple solutions to the problem. Spot is the first piece of equipment which resolves this major problem in a significant and meaningful way.
Spot is a uniquely designed and highly advanced robotic platform, manufactured by Boston Dynamics in Massachusetts. Upon seeing its unconventional design, offering never before seen capabilities, it was easy to see how it would fit into the law enforcement environment. Spot was funded by the Province of Manitoba, through the Criminal Property Forfeiture Fund. The WPS took delivery in February 2022.
Spot can take over one of the most dangerous jobs a police officer has to do - which is opening a closed door. And closed doors are encountered well beyond the initial entry. We may be faced with bedroom, bathroom, basement, closet, and all other types of doors found inside an average home.
And the benefits don’t stop there. Spot not only opens the door but can self-insert into the area behind the door, inspect, and move through the entire house unimpeded. Spot does all of this while streaming live video back to the operator. Spot provides access to information that was previously impossible to attain. This in turn drives good decision-making and tells the story of what is occurring inside and who may or may not be present; now accomplished without unnecessarily risking lives.
One may rightly point out that the police have been using technology to enhance public and officer safety for years in the form of remotely controlled tracked robots. But Spot is different.
Due to the fact Spot was inspired by a form found in nature (4 independent legs), it easily manages uneven terrain along with cluttered, barely walkable floors, where even humans would struggle to navigate. Spot excels in another area too - stairs. Spot self-navigates up and down stairs with ease; arguably better than a person.
The above describes one specific use for Spot. There are other applications. Some examples may include:
· Assisting the Bomb Unit with the inspection of suspicious circumstances and packages, where traditional robotic platforms can’t go because of terrain, location and other reasons.
· Insertion into environment denied areas, where dangerous chemicals might be present, such as clandestine and meth labs.
· Assisting the Disaster Management Team during natural and manmade disasters by information gathering in hazardous areas, to help make better informed decisions to deploy personnel and resources more effectively, efficiently and safely.
I have heard that while people understand how Spot reduces and mitigates risk to the public and police in high-risk operational situations, they are concerned that the technology could be deployed for other non-traditional purposes, such as autonomous functions, including surveillance. The WPS will not deploy the robot in these types of situations and it will never be used at the expense of people’s rights or dignity. Nor will it ever be used to carry or deploy weapons.
After all of this, what is the end result? That is an easy answer – saved lives.
*Based on a 2022 Tactical Support Team armed and barricaded event.
Civil Forfeiture - providing assistance to ensure safer outcomes in dangerous situations.
Melinda Murray
Executive Director, Criminal Property Forfeiture
Public Safety Division, Manitoba Justice
In 2009 Manitoba’s civil forfeiture legislation, The Criminal Property Forfeiture Act (CPFA) came into force. Since then, the civil forfeiture regime has become a well-known and critical tool in the fight against organized crime as a means to disgorge wealth and prosperity derived from unlawful activity. Civil forfeiture is governed by provincial civil forfeiture laws and can encompass any property proven to be an instrument or proceeds of unlawful activity including real property (homes, cottages, businesses), personal property such as vehicles and jewellery as well as cash and bank accounts. The purpose of the CPFA is to provide civil remedies that will prevent individuals who engage in unlawful activities from keeping property and assets which were acquired as a result of unlawful activity and secondly to recover property used to facilitate unlawful activity.
Further amendments to the CPFA occurred in 2013 to create an administrative forfeiture regime which streamlines the forfeiture process of property with a value of $75,000 or less. Recently new amendments came into effect in 2021 to increase the legal information gathering tools and authority to identify and secure unlawful money before it can become untraceable and disappears through money laundering schemes devised by sophisticated criminal networks. The objective is to disrupt the activities of organized crime, reduce the quantity of illicit funds in need of laundering and provide a deterrent to those who profit from unlawful activities often with impunity.
CPF responsibilities include the review of all Manitoba police agencies’ file referrals to determine whether forfeiture proceedings should be initiated against any property it believes is derived from unlawful activity while also balancing the interests of justice and the public interest.
The goal is to ultimately return those profits to Manitobans through funding of initiatives focused on reducing and preventing crime, promoting safer communities and supporting programs and services that benefit victims of crime. In some instances, funding is also provided to law enforcement agencies to purchase specialized equipment which will assist in enhancing the safety of the public and the officers who place themselves in harms way to protect the citizens of Manitoba.
The robotic platform by Boston Dynamics is one such example of specialized equipment purchased by the Winnipeg Police Service utilizing Criminal Property Forfeiture funds. Aptly named SPOT, this newly acquired robotic platform is intended for use to assist and protect the lives of police officers and the public to ensure safer outcomes in highly volatile and dangerous situations.