FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 22, 2023

Click here to download a copy of this media advisory.

The RCMP’s Corporal Chris Smith receives the 2023 CACP International Policing Award

OTTAWA, ONTARIO – The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police (CACP) is proud to announce the winner of the CACP International Policing Award which recognizes the important contributions made by Canadian police services in global matters.  It acknowledges Canadian law enforcement personnel for their exceptional dedication and initiative in using Canadian policing skills to contribute to a safer world and seeks to encourage more Canadian police services to contribute to and work on the international scene.

This year’s award recipient is Corporal Chris Smith of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) for the successful implementation of Project AEGIS. This initiative involved the collection of information and the preservation of evidence related to possible war crimes and crimes against humanity as a result of the Ukraine - Russia conflict. He is particularly being acknowledged for the innovative, visionary, and informed approach he and his small team have taken to gather evidence to be used in potential future criminal prosecutions through a structural investigation conducted under the auspices of the Canadian War Crimes program.

In his role as Primary Investigator, Corporal Smith played a key role in reviewing and approving established standard operating procedures (SOP) regarding the potential future repatriation of deceased Canadians under the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act. Forensic autopsies of these victims were initiated, in accordance with RCMP and SII mandates, with the Canadian public interest, and the interests of the victim and their families in mind.

Corporal Smith oversaw the process of creating new SOP for the retrieval and analysis of digital media evidence provided by victims of alleged war crimes, ensuring that it complies with privacy laws, is collected, stored, and disseminated in a manner consistent with applicable laws, while taking into account future needs and potential requests of interested international stakeholders.

He oversaw the creation, and implementation of the community outreach portfolio, the social media awareness campaign, and the automation of the workflow process on this file so it could withstand the test of time as well as the transition from any and all future lead investigators who may be tasked with the responsibility of continuing his work in the decades to come.

Although this file is ongoing and continuously evolving, the systems put in place by Corporal Smith and his small investigative team have helped pave the way for any future investigations and the project will serve as a prime example for all future structural investigations of equal or lesser complexity.

The RCMP has since worked to provide the significant intelligence gathered in this investigation to international partners including the Europol Analysis Project on Core International Crimes, the Genocide Network Secretariat of Eurojust, and Global Affairs Canada to name a select few.

                                                                -30-

For further information or to arrange a media interview, please contact:

Natalie Wright
Communications Advisor

613.838.8807