CIPSRT | Public safety personnel (PSP)

Glossary of Terms

The definition of public safety personnel (PSP) continues to evolve and may change.
This is a broad term to describe the people who ensure the safety and security of the public.
First responders can also be referred to as PSP.
In Canada, the term PSP includes border services officers, serving Canadian Armed Forces members and Veterans, correctional service and parole officers, firefighters (career and volunteer), Indigenous emergency managers, operational intelligence personnel, paramedics, police officers, public safety communicators (e.g. 911 dispatchers), and search and rescue personnel.

The definition of public safety personnel (PSP) continues to evolve.
The term is currently used primarily in Canada.
It is a broad term meant to encompass people with specialized training who are employed to ensure the safety and security of the public.
In the 2016 report Healthy Minds, Safe Communities, the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security defined a public safety officer broadly “to encompass frontline personnel who ensure the safety and security of Canadians, including tri-services (fire, police, and paramedics), search and rescue personnel, correctional services officers, border services officers, operational intelligence personnel, and Indigenous emergency managers.”^60,p.5
Feedback on the term public safety officer indicated that many occupational groups felt excluded by the use of the word “officer” because they did not identify as belonging to military or police forces. As a result, public safety personnel is now used to refer to people acting in professional capacities that relate to public safety.