Chris Cobb, Ottawa (Montreal Gazette) – A former security adviser to the federal government says the RCMP’s focus on the Winter Olympics has “overstretched” the force and was likely a factor in Monday’s successful Greenpeace protest on Parliament Hill.
The University of Toronto’s Wesley Wark, a security specialist and former adviser to the Prime Minister’s Office, said the Greenpeace stunt was predictable.
The group descended from the roofs of the Parliament Buildings and unfurled banners drawing attention to the climate-change talks beginning in Copenhagen aimed at producing a treaty to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions.
“Some heightened security measures should have been taken that weren’t,” Wark said. “It would certainly have been in someone’s threat assessment at RCMP headquarters but the RCMP has had to surge and mobilize people for the Olympics and that has to have an impact on their day-to-day operations across the country.”
Since the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, D.C. on Sept. 11, 2001, the RCMP has responded with tightened security that includes inspections of motor vehicles and screening of visitors at a public side-entrance of Parliament’s Centre Block.
The last major security breach on Parliament Hill was six years ago, when a man drove his truck through a chain barrier in front of the Peace Tower. The chain was replaced by concrete slabs.
One faction of the so-called Toronto 18 arrested three years ago was allegedly hatching a terrorist plot to storm the Parliament Buildings when they were apprehended.
Although the RCMP should have been more alert to a possible Greenpeace protest to mark the first day of the Copenhagen climate-change conference, Wark said the current screening measures on the Hill are “appropriate.”
“These incidents can be overblown,” he said. “Nobody was hurt and there always has to be some trade-off between public access and security but from the broader perspective, it is an indication that the RCMP is overstretched.”
Others caution against overreacting to the Greenpeace breach of Parliament Hill’s multimillion-dollar, state-of-the-art security blanket.
“To say the least, it’s a huge cream pie in the face of the RCMP,” said former Mountie and senior CSIS intelligence officer Michel Juneau-Katsuya. “But in a democracy we need to find a balance between security and the terrorist threat, otherwise the terrorists have won.”
RCMP and other security personnel apparently assumed that the Greenpeace protesters were construction workers who have been part of the Parliament Hill scenery for years.
“It’s a very serious incident,” said Juneau-Katsuya, now a private security consultant. “They went in with huge packsacks that could have been loaded with explosives and they would also have been in a perfect sniper position. But it was a peaceful demonstration and at least that allows the RCMP to fix the problem.”
The 20 activists arrested Monday by Ottawa police were released Tuesday. Six were held in custody longer while their lawyer negotiated with the Crown over release conditions because their personal relationships would have made it difficult to fulfil a court order not to communicate directly or indirectly with each other.
All 20 have been told to keep the peace, notify police of any address changes and stay away from Parliament Hill. They return to court on mischief charges Jan. 11.
Surrendering to fear and paranoia is not the answer to the security problem, Juneau-Katsuya agreed with Wark.
“We have to accept the compromise otherwise we turn ourselves into a Big Brother society living in bunkers. I don’t think anyone wants that.”
And there have been worse security breaches, he noted — such as the break-in at 24 Sussex Drive in 1995 when an intruder made his way to then-prime minister Jean Chretien’s bedroom and it took the RCMP seven minutes to react.
If Canadians want a “silver lining” after Monday’s incident, he said, they should ponder the case of the couple who penetrated layers of White House security last month and attended a state dinner, at one of the most secure buildings on the planet, without an invitation.
“They could have killed the president,” said Juneau-Katsuya. “It would have been really easy to bring a weapon — a Plexiglas knife that would not have been caught by a metal detector.”
The weakest link in any security chain is the human one, he added.
“It is a utopia to believe everything can be perfectly secure,” he said. “Security is a human construct and by its nature is doomed to be flawed.”
Ottawa Citizen, with files from Matthew Pearson
I agree with Calvin; its too early to determine if this incident has anything to do with preperations for the Olympics coming up in February. The breech in security surrounding the uninvited couple that got past the U.S. Secret Service at a recent presidential dinner stateside shows that any security system can be breached by anyone. Perhaps the Mounties on the Hill developed “tunnel vision.” Perhaps they were relaxing while the PM was out of town.
In one newscast I watched, an RCMP spokesperson suggested that arresting the Greenpeace protesters was the responsibility of the Ottawa police; then an Ottawa police spokesperson said that the parliament buildings were federal jurisdiction and the responsibility of the RCMP and that the Ottawa PD was just there to assist. I almost got the feeling both sets of cops were hoping to unload the responsibility of rounding up the Greenpeace protesters onto the OPP.
I’ll check back in early March ‘10 to see if the Olympics strained RCMP resources to the ‘breaking point.’
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There may have been other contributing factors to the incident on Parliament Hill. I have worked, trained, and now consult on physical security topics.
One aspect of the situation here is that this type of policing is mind numbing work. The individual RCMP members performing these type of duties has to have a great deal of mental toughness and discipline. I will use a code to describe the mental awareness that is required by all police officers when performing their duties here or else ware on the street.
Code White: Unaware-being unconcerned
Code Yellow: Relaxed but alert
Code Orange: Prepared for danger
Code Red: Ready for fight
In relation to the specific incident it appears that the members on duty were in a state of code white. They not only missed the incident; they also missed the intelligence gathering process by the organization. RCMP members should be mentally moving using these codes when on their shift. Being in Code white during their entire shift leaves them open to unpleasant incidents. Being in Code red during their entire shift would be impossible because they would burn out before it ended.
Do the RCMP members have PERMISSION to do their job in this political environment? If a member is working on the street that permission would be a given. On Parliament Hill if someone is challenged and complains, will the member’s actions be supported? If the member is not supported he/she will not make the required challenges in the future. They would not want the negative flack from their supervisor.
The selection process of RCMP duties has to be taken into consideration. Usually but not always, members being transferred to Ottawa are required to guard embassies or government buildings and residences such as Parliament Hill. Some of these members have been involved in a high level of police work prior to being assigned to these duties. Some have just graduated from Depot. The common denominator is the same. Mind numbing work and not wanting to do this duty for years at a time. Most will be removed from the promotional process and resent being there.
I am NOT suggesting that RCMP members be allowed to pick what duties they perform. I am saying because of the nature of the work RCMP management cannot assume that everyone has the capacity to perform these duties. RCMP staffing cannot just send a member to Parliament Hill and be told that Staffing will look at your file again in three years. There should be a motivational aspect to these duties. Think outside the box.
Some of you may remember the accidents that took place with the MP5 weapon at a posted site in Ottawa. The accidents occurred out of boredom and the RCMP had to invite the press to the firing range to show that the MP5 was safe.
Selection for these duties should be earned and rewarded.
Calvin Lawrence
CGL Consulting
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