RCMP seeks to bolster officials’ home security

Bullet-proofing sought, but must also look good

The RCMP is worried enough about the security of some unnamed public officials that it has issued an unusual call for lightweight armoured doors and wall panels for officials’ homes, citing “changing threat levels.”

It says the door assemblies and walls must offer both forced-entry and ballistic (or bulletproof) protection, while being easy to install.

But the force includes a caveat in tender documents published this month: the protective equipment also has to look good. Or, at least, it must be “aesthetically compatible” with existing housing materials and flooring.

The requests for proposals offer a rare glimpse at the protection afforded some Canadian dignitaries, in a country where security for individual public figures is for the most part fairly understated.

One of three tenders issued says the wall panels must “match changing threat levels.” But the RCMP refused to say what threats specifically prompted the project, or what type and number of public officials might get the retrofits in their homes.

The force’s protective technical services branch is “always looking for new and better ways to deliver its mandate of providing physical security and counter-measure solutions for VIPs and internationally protected persons,” Sgt. Harold Pfleiderer, an RCMP spokesman, said in an emailed statement. “For security reasons, we cannot provide more specific information.”

One security consultant said using such material for “hardening the target” is common practice in the security industry, often used to create safe rooms where residents can hide when under threat.

The same officials who are guarded by RCMP security details — like the prime minister and certain cabinet ministers — would likely get the bulletproof home protection, too, said Terence Chase of Defense Intelligence Service, a private military company based in Surrey, B.C.

“People are just not aware that it’s actually being used. It’s being used on a regular basis in a number of residences out there. In Canada,” he said. “It will not necessarily fend off an attack, but it will delay the attacking force long enough for responding forces to attend.”

But Chase said that the type of technology the RCMP is requesting — and plans to test — is already readily available and verified as effective by agencies like the U.S. Secret Service. It seems the Canadians are “reinventing the wheel” in what appears to be a needlessly costly process, he said.

A former RCMP officer whose jobs included protecting VIPs said he’s unaware of specific, new threats faced by public officials, but says it’s wise to be proactive.

“I see it as being a step forward,” Ty Watts, now president of LTD & Associates security consultants, said about the federal initiative. “We find that most of our work comes as a result of a breakin having happened. It’s an after-the-fact industry, which is stupid.”

The RFPs were issued under the Build in Canada Innovation Program, designed to encourage Canadian companies to produce inventive solutions for federal government needs.

One is for a variety of lightweight door assemblies that would be part of “a series of immediate security upgrades” at the residences of public officials. Traditional armour material is prohibitive because of the excessive weight and difficulty integrating it into a home, the document notes.

Another tender invites bids on panels with similar qualities for installing in homes and offices, able to attach to one another and form a continuous wall, floor or ceiling that is paintable and blends with existing flooring and walls.

A third is for portable “ballistic wall panels” that can be set up at public events for officials where a “ballistic threat” has been identified.

“The RCMP has been using such panels for many years but (because of ) the increase in the number of events requiring this kind of protection, a more portable solution is needed.”

The panels should be “refined enough to be deployed during highly visible media events,” says the tender.

IT WILL DELAY THE ATTACKING FORCE LONG ENOUGH FOR RESPONDING FORCES TO ATTEND.