Criteria:

The criteria of when the Ribbon is worn is to allow all officers serving their communities and countries to be honoured :

It is as follows:

1. The deceased officer must have been a sworn peace officer in Canada and died as a result of an external influence.
2. The deceased officer must have been on duty at the time of death, or if off duty, acting in the capacity of a peace officer, or the circumstances leading to the death must have been brought about because of the officer's official status.
3. The deceased officer must have acted in good faith in doing everything that could have been reasonably expected.
4. Notwithstanding the above, any set of circumstances which lead to the death of an officer, may be considered.
5. The Ribbon is worn from the preceding Monday leading up to and including the last Sunday of September (Police and Peace Officers Memorial Day).
6. In the event of an officer's death on duty, the Ribbon is worn from the time of the officer's death until his burial/memorial.