Tonda MacCharles (Toronto Star) – At the RCMP’s training academy, cadets are sweating and federal dollars are hard at work.
“Cadet!” hollers a drill instructor. “Fall in.”
Thanks to the Conservative government, the money is pouring in here – all part of an effort to rebuild the RCMP and Canadian trust in the national police force.
A new firearms range is being built. The parade square’s been newly landscaped. There’s a new lecture hall. The drill hall’s been renovated. New dorms are under construction. More cadets are being put through their paces, and they now get a $500-a-week allowance that takes some of the sting out of six months of basic training.
Spending on training recruits – the future of the force – to be better “problem-solvers,” as instructors call it, is easy to justify, especially in the wake of tragedies like the Taser shooting of Robert Dziekanski.
The force knows it can ill-afford mistakes.
“It takes part of a second to make a decision, but a jury and the media have months to pick it apart,” says Cpl. Mark Flodell, a firearms instructor.
Two years after a government-ordered review described the force as “horribly broken,” the RCMP says change is underway.
Back then, the force was reeling from a string of scandals: a parliamentary investigation into mismanagement of RCMP pension and insurance funds; critical findings by a judicial inquiry into Maher Arar’s rendition ordeal; and the resignation of commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli over conflicting testimony to a committee about his actions in the Arar case.
The government struck a panel to oversee RCMP reform, even as other inquiries unfolded – into the botched Air India investigation, the imprisonment of three other Muslim-Canadians in the Middle East, and the Taser shooting of Polish immigrant Dziekanski.
This week, the panel supervising the reforms will submit to the government its third update on the RCMP’s effort to transform itself.
Chances are it will give the force pretty good marks.
Former commissioner Bev Busson – the first and so far only female chief Mountie in 2006-07 – is a member of the panel.
Reform is an ongoing project, she says, but there’s progress. “On a scale of one to 10, I’d say it’s a seven.”
The big challenge in Busson’s view is still communications. “We are so bad at it.” Partly, she says, because the culture is “risk-averse” at all levels.
It makes for cautious leadership. It affects internal communications and it affects external communications with the public.
Busson attributes it to a culture that values secrecy and privacy; members are drilled from the get-go to protect people’s privacy, not to discuss work with next-door neighbours, let alone reporters.
“You’re charged with a lot of big secrets about other people – you can’t talk about those things. And so when people are looking for all this transparency and we’re trying to protect either an investigation or someone else’s privacy, you look sneaky.”
The RCMP is making a big effort to burnish its public image.
In November, a 13-part reality TV show called Courage in Red begins airing on the Outdoor Life Network – profiles of different RCMP units meant to show the gritty work of a force that does frontline policing in eight provinces and three territories, and has federal and international policing duties.
The Mounties are also making huge investments in new recruits.
At a cost of $1 million, eight computerized driving simulator “pods” teach recruits how to speed safely in a cruiser and dodge civilians en route to emergency calls.
Another interactive video simulator uses role-playing and real-life scenarios to hone a cadet’s judgment and quick-reaction skills – whether to respond, for example, with pepper spray or bullets – in life-or-death situations where public or officer safety is threatened. A separate “airmunition” firing range helps greenhorns perfect their marksmanship, using laser weapons with a third of the recoil and all of the pop of a standard 9-mm Smith and Wesson.
These two simulator packages cost nearly $220,000. The Mounties say the technology is improving cadets’ accuracy before they step into a live-fire range.
Harder to justify in the eyes of some critics are expenditures on pricey executive training courses.
The Ottawa Citizen recently revealed that RCMP commissioner William Elliott spent more than $44,000 for a three-day “executive coaching” session in Scottsdale, Ariz. The RCMP is seeking bids for a $220,000 contract to provide leadership training for another 15 senior executives.
Assistant commissioner Keith Clark says such training is crucial in the effort to change the “culture” at the top.
In an interview, Elliott defended the coaching. It offered insight into “my leadership style and its impact” and is part of the overall effort to train leaders “at all levels.”
“It is foolhardy to believe that individual leaders or leadership teams, executive teams, can just rely on the skills and knowledge that they have,” said Elliott.
As the civilian responsible for leading change in the RCMP, Elliott insists the organization is “quite a bit different today than it was” the day he took over in July 2007, when the reform implementation council was struck.
The first job was to deal with manpower shortages of 25 to 30 per cent in some detachments.
Recruitment is up, and last year nearly 1,800 people graduated. Fewer senior members are retiring early, which is common in tough economic times. Elliott argues it is also because the RCMP is a better place to work – “less bureaucratic,” more “flexible” – than before.
Elliott insists the RCMP is in better shape to meet community needs and the needs of its more than 18,000 uniformed members.
He points to experiments, such as a pilot project in B.C. to allow Mounties to work part-time or job-share. This is aimed at retaining more women trying to raise families. As well, he mentions a pilot project in Saskatchewan that sends senior officers back into the field for one-week deployments so they get a taste of what it’s like back on the frontlines. Another project assigns senior officers in Regina to give round-the-clock supervision advice by phone, so Mounties in smaller detachments don’t have to be called upon while off duty.
Busson is optimistic about the future. “I think the force is well on its way to being fixed,” she says.
However, Senator Colin Kenny, chair of the Senate committee on national security and defence that has studied change at the RCMP, is unconvinced.
He says the senior leadership is “process-driven” and has to do better. Kenny, who is married to an RCMP superintendent, says any talk of the force’s inner workings is off-limits at home, but he’s travelled enough and talked to enough members to know the Mounties still faces huge hurdles.
He points to the low rates of women (20 per cent) and visible minorities (6 per cent) in the uniformed ranks, and even lower rates at the senior management levels – a failure to reflect the face of Canada that undercuts the RCMP’s credibility, which “has to be tackled head-on if transformation is going to work.”
Kenny says the force is still short-staffed. Part of the issue is money, he says. “They are short of funds and they can’t tell you that.”
Most important, from Kenny’s perspective, the RCMP needs to focus on its people.
“The assets of the RCMP go out the door at 5 o’clock or whenever they come off shift,” he said. “It’s a people organization and the value is in the culture, the ethos, the attitude and the integrity of the RCMP.
“The challenge is how do you keep the integrity, the goals of the RCMP, but transform it into something that meets the country’s current needs. My assumption is the closer the RCMP looks to the face of Canada, the easier it will be to meet those goals.”
That was a great post Calvin. I agree wholeheartedly with what you said about standing up to management and not picking on the individual. Sometimes, though I have to use the individual as an example to make that point to the powers that be.
I also agree that you should have been judged on what your work ethic and compentency is, and not where you got your training and I don’t feel for one second that you got special treatment had you went back to Nova Scotia.
But, some years ago Assist. Comm Dwight Bishop stated that cadets from H could not go back there. However, the exception is minority members and often are not sent to the Prestons or Cherry Brook or anywhere they could serve their own race in a community policing setting.
I think people understand the exception to the rule if there is a purpose. When there is no purpose, it is what breeds animosity and the apperance of special treatment. And, yes I don’t blame those minority cadets for wanting to go back to H division, I blame management for the preferential treatment.
I also agree with Deepthroat about natives not accepting other natives as police. Years ago I heard of tribal forces who hired whites for this very reason.
Calvin I also agree with the Cat analogy. The brass want a bunch of infighting to divide and conquer and this is one area I see a break down in leadership.
Yeah, those chicken wings sound good! Hopefully, you wash them down with Keiths!
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Maybe the liberal Ivory tower legend that people who get into an orgainsation with lower physical, intellectual and mental standards due to filling quota’s, but perform equally, is just plain old politically correct B.S.
Webster’s dictionary- Useless. Ineffectual, Inept. EXCEPT For CALVIN LAWRENCE
What do I define as useless. Someone who fails every written and hands on test the first time around and is always in remedial. Someone in a scenario who pulls out pepper spray when someone is running at them with a knife perhaps? Someone who shoots someone in a scenario they are not supposed to. (EXCEPT for CALVIN LAWRENCE as he is qualified to teach such tactics) I think by most accounts this would qualify with most people who actually know what they are talking about.
As far as your example goes about sports players, I don’t buy it. I don’t think anyone could say Jackie Robinson wasn’t a good ball player. Major leage teams didn’t want him not because of his ability it was because of skin color.
What I describe is a competence issue. Lets not get confused here with the smoke an mirrors analogies. Useless employees are not wanted because of incompetence (NOT CALVIN LAWRENCE), and not because of their skin color. It’s the liberalized policies that determine who gets hired based on race that is the cause of some quality control issues.
As far as communities wanting to be policed by a particuar race, my philosphy is this. Here are the standards. We will try to recruit visible minorities, but we are not going to compromise the integrity of our hiring practices just to fill numbers. If you are not satisfied with this, than contract someone else to fulfill your policing needs.
If you ask the average person on the street they want an effectual cop coming to their house. Someone with the physical capibilities to make an aprehension and the mental ones to take the report. It is moslty wacked out liberals and special interest groups on parliment hill that put political correctness above public saftey.
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JohnnyG and others please let me explain my position.
We all have non-white friends and I have white friends. Some of us got into the RCMP by being related to other members, VM programs, or modified programs and on it goes.
I was a member of the Halifax City Police from 1969 to 1978. When I applied for the RCMP I wanted to do the full six months. RCMP management said no way and I did the eight week modified program. Predictably it came. He is substandard. He came in by the back door. I had to deal with that. Now I/they show up in uniform and unless you know every non-white members RCMP history they are looked at as the person who came in the RCMP on the employment equity program.
What I am suggesting is stop beating up on the members who took part in the programs and go after the creators of the programs if don’t agree with them. It takes guts to go after management. It is easer to go after the member. I hear all the time it’s the French, no, It’s the women, no; its the english.
Do you really think that non-white people stand on the side of the road and see a white male police officer and say ; I wonder if he is an officer’s son, or did he get in hired on the modified program.
We are like a bunch of cats who are placed in a box and start fighting. Don’t fight with each other. Go after the person who put us in the box.
Yes I have experienced racist behaviour by INDIVIDUAL RCMP members. I didn’t accuse all RCMP members of Racist behaviour. I exposed the people by name and explained what they did. Then I went back to work. That is what I suggest people do.
I don’t care if he took the police training on the moon.
Assess how he/she does the job and if they can’t dismiss them. Don’t harass them because they are women, or some officers son, or came in on a modified or VM program. The member of the public doesn’t care who shows up or what training they received as long as the member can stop the assault and arrest the suspect properly. We also work towards the core values when we treat members with respect.
Someone asked me if I came in on an employment equity program. Here we go again. What goes through your brain computer when I say yes or no. Look at my work record. How did I perform as a police officer for 36 Years. That is what you should be concerned with.
Most managers of the RCMP has always used the baseball bat for everything but hitting baseballs. There was the buy outs, pension fund, and yes employment equity programs which were abused.
When I graduated from Depot I requested to go back to N.S. I was turned down. Those members who wanted to go to N.S. had major diffuiculty getting transfers there. A few years later while stationed in O Division I got a call from staffing to go to N.S. There was great deal of conflict between the black community and the RCMP. I did not go to N.S. but, here we go again, there was great resentment against me because I was asked to go. Don’t go after me go after staffing.
On other response, I use my name; not for publicly, but to let you know that when the topic of Police/Race Relations comes up I am not the new kid on the block. While posted at Depot on two separated occasions I was called upon by the CO and APS Officer to resolve racial conflicts between cadets and recruits. I have been presenting since 1969.
I love these discussions and only wish we could do this over chicken wings so that I can show you the many documents that I have to make my arguments.
This reminds me of the RCMP quote:
The RCMP may not always be right but we are never wrong! (:-)
Calvin Lawrence
CGL Consulting
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“A community of poor rural aboriginals will not be best served by graduates of West Vancouver high schools.” Speaking of uneducated bias…
If you do a little research you will find the aboriginal program in the RCMP as a basic failure. A Native from a reserve in Manitoba hired and trained by the RCMP is no more accepted than a regular member by a reserve in Alberta. They are called “apples” by the community. So much for relating to those you serve. Conscious effort to learn, understanding, education and willingness to assist goes much farther than a government decree to have Natives police Natives.
Your wise and grandiose: “…elected leaders determined that the makeup of police should better reflect the makeup of the society they serve.” bears little resemblance to the political pandering and unsupportable targets set for minorities of all stripes of the government in order to garner votes and be seen to be doing something.
You analogy of Dresden is somewhat perplexing as an adjunct for your post. The firebombing of an entire city without touching the outlying military targets would I guess parallel the inanity of political machinations disguised as the greater good. Or did you have a different point on that? Perhaps it was the parallel with respect to justification of the firebombing was not a war crime itself, that was your point?
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Unfortunately it is a reality. You claim to have “sources” so why do you not canvass them for an accounting of the individuals on stress and medical leave? Try and see if you can gather any information on the female RCMP officer on “leave” for 19 years in BC?
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“When useless people are put into training they often face severe harassment and the facilitators not only look the other way on, but at times contribute.”
And, we all might define “useless” differently. Remember, there was general agreement among white owners that blacks were unable to play quarterback, because they lacked the intellectual skills. Or, blacks couldn’t play basketball or baseball at the highest levels for similar reasons. That commonly accepted wisdom doesn’t look so wise today does it?
Maybe, these urban legends about female cops being afraid of the dark are just that. Plain old bigoted B.S.
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Calvin, why is it you never paraphrase anything encouraging I say?
What part of: “incompetence knows no ethnic boudary. There are some great minority members, and I have particular regard for the ones who made it in before employment equity programs guaranteed their spot.” didn’t you like or agree with? Did this not apply to you?
Any comments in the last post that were made were in regards to FEMALE minorities. So unless there is something going on that I don’t know about such as gender reassignment surgery, than I think it went without saying that this did not apply to you.
But, as requested I will correct the record.
I have seen FEMALE minorities in Depot that failed every test the first time around and managed to get through. People that were so incompetent that after 1o seconds you knew they were not cut out to go out and arrest people, or even do the paper work. EXCEPT for CALVIN LAWRENCE
It is a fact that a minority needs a lower score on the RPAT to get an interview. EXCEPT FOR CALVIN LAWRENCE as he joined the RCMP before the Canadian Charter of rights and Freedoms inshrined employment equity section 15 (2) subsection 1.
By the way, I am attacking the system not the individual. Though I at times I sound insensitive, in no way do I advocate trying to sweep anyone into the cracks as often goes on. When useless people are put into training they often face severe harassment and the facilitators not only look the other way on, but at times contribute. I just think it makes more sense to put the right people where they need to be and focus on building a strong team from there.
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Recurrently, society has set broad goals and worked toward them despite knowledge that hardship, inconvenience, even death or ruin, would befall some contributors or bystanders. The incendiary bombing of Dresden in 1945 is but one example. Anywhere from 24,000 to 150,000 perished, depending on the estimate you accept.
A relative flew in that campaign. Was he a war criminal, did children and other victims die for no good reason? Or, were they sacrifices for a higher purpose?
Comments here tend to a narrow view of how a police force should be assembled. Some may want as candidates only the strongest, fastest, most weapons-wise intimidators. Others might want bookish proceduralists who studied psychology and sociology and bring a broad understanding of cultural sensitivities.
The fact is, whether the profession like it or not, elected leaders determined that the makeup of police should better reflect the makeup of the society they serve. At the simplest level, a population with a majority of females ought not to be policed by a street force that is 90% male. A community of poor rural aboriginals will not be best served by graduates of West Vancouver high schools.
The politicians don’t want to state it publicly, but of course they are prepared to alter recruitment standards to achieve more reflective law enforcement agencies. That is the overriding broad goal.
Don’t argue about the little effects. Was the 6′2″ white guy a better choice than a 5″8″ Asian, all other things being more or less similar (and how the hell do you measure that accurately)? Probably not, if your eye is on the real objective.
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Seems my last post went to the netherworlds again. At any rate, take heart JohhnyG, as the colloquial expression goes, ‘the times they are a changin’. There appears to be a beginning to the re-emergence of emphasizing team philosophy in training. Due to the recent push for members out of training there has been equal hiring of qualified personnel, with the minority standard being the overall standard for everyone at least until this time.
However, with the present slowdown of the training facility, there may occur a resurgence of higher scores all around. Apparently the concern of declining enrollment of minorities has been raised, however, due to the need for trained persons, it has taken a back seat to expediency. I am sure however, at some point there will be some ombudsman, or auditor or political hack noting that the percentage of RCMP members does not reflect the “cultural mosaic” of the country and there will be another round of hand wringing on what to do, what to do.
In actual fact there was recently a troop in Depot that gradated with all 32 persons it started with. A celebration was held in honor of that achievement. So it would appear that by some means at least some of the non hackers are being weeded out, leaving what once was a standard 32 in and out, a rarity of late.
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JohnnyG
I will argue this fact to the grave.
—————————————————-
Since you are going to take your opinions to the grave; I respectfully request that when you make the statements regarding incompetent visible minorities RCMP officers that you add at the end EXCEPT for CALVIN LAWRENCE.
Thanks,
Calvin Lawrence
CGL Consulting
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Old School, you are correct when you talk about how incompetence knows no ethnic boudary. There are some great minority members, and I have particular regard for the ones who made it in before employment equity programs guaranteed their spot. However, you are dead wrong when it comes to the fact that minoirities don’t get special treatment.
I have seen female minorities in Depot that failed every test the first time around and managed to get through. People that were so incompetent that after 1o seconds you knew they were not cut out to go out and arrest people, or even do the paper work.
This subject reminds me of Plato’s the “Cave” where what is percieved as real is really an illusion.
It is a fact that a minority needs a lower score on the RPAT to get an interview. It is a fact (and Depot’s dirtiest secret) that the most useless cadets in Depot are visible minority females. It is also a fact that minorities (primarily females) get preferential treatment, even in regards to postings. Just because you have not seen it first hand, does not mean it does not exist. I have seen provinical divisions that were closed for everyone else, become open the second a female that looked nordic (that had a native ancestor in the distant woodpile) wanted in. The ironic part is that individual told staffing they didn’t want to be sent to a “reserve’. My attitude is you play the card, be prepared to be dealt the hand. That is the way things are run. It is not politically correct to talk about, but that is the way things are. Sometimes the “Wizard” is just a man behind the curtain shifting gears.
Years ago a Saskatewean MP for Yorktown named Gary Berkewitz talked about how political correctess was a higher priority in the RCMP than public safety and he also went on to describe how minoirites got preferental postings. I will argue this fact to the grave.
As far as the story about the guy who had a brother who “didn’t make the cut”, NO we will never know the ending. Maybe he was making excuses, mabye the guy should have gotten in. I know a ton of great guys who would have made great cops, but they were white, didn’t have breasts or speak a second language. As long as the current system remains in place such questions will never be answered because the hiring system is not 100% based on merit. Whenever you have a system such as we have now, there is always room for debate. That goes for both sides of the racial equation. The current system is unfair to whites males who deserved to get in and all others who deserved to on merit but were denied the opportunity to prove their worth because of emplyment equity.
As far as taking flight together is concerned, remember it is liberals that are the ones that told minorities they could not compete with whites and established a quota system. Liberals are the ones going around with the hyper sensitivity, but are the ones who introduced divide and conquer tactics the second they brought in employment equity into the Canadian Charter.
I am happy to “Fly” with everyone else, but as long as the merit system is out the window, than nobody really flies. It is dragging people down, instead of lifting others up.
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I agree with Calvin’s comments. His first line says it as it really is. Uninformed people making blanket statements not based on anything other than emotion is wrong I remember a member I worked with who came to Canada from Africa, Years later he joined the RCMP. I am a white person and could honestly say I had never seen the ugly face of racism until one day when I worked this member. A civilian came and asked me while my partner was in the washroom, when did we hire “those” people and he had to get in because he was Black. He got in because he met the requirements and folks he was/is an extremely good member. Turns out the person who made the comments had a brother who didn’t make the cut. So you know the rest of it, their logic is his brother lost a job due to a minority getting preferential treatment. Hog Wash. His brother was incompetent and this was proven a few years later when he joined another force.
Incompetence is not linked to colour nor ethnic origin.
As Calvin states, many members have felt retribution for speaking the truth. Craig Smith wrote a book about Blacks joining the RCMP and the title is a quote from the book. A Cpl told the Black member that “he had better be white by 6 a.m.” That small minded mentality and outright racism is now hidden behind comments by people using affirmative action as a cover and it is wrong.
You can be white, black, Chinese, Caucasian,African or whatever.
Incompetence is colour blind folks but racism is still racism no matter what you hide it behind. However, having made the above comments I also agree with the reply from JohnnyG wherein he states that we have to get rid of the system that permits incompetence. I disagree with JohnnyG in his comment that women and others get preferential treatment. I have yet to see people that joined the RCMP get in by lessening of the standards even though they had been lowered a few years previous. Bring back the old standards and the competence level should increase.
I don’t know if its any comfort to the men and women of minorities that went ahead within the Force and broke down the barriers to gender, race and ethnic origin, but all the members of a visible minorities represented in todays Force owe them a debt of gratitude for opening the door for future generations.
I think the comments attributed to an old black man during the Obama campaign says it all and could be used to fit just about any situation. ” Rosie sat so Martin could walk, Martin walked so Barack could run, and Obama ran so our children could fly”
Instead of worrying about which group is more competent, why don’t we see if we can take flight together.
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JohnnyG,
You must realize that there are non-white competent RCMP members that are angered, hurt, and offended when people link race with incompetence. As I said previously if a peron is Female, Non-White, Gay, French, English, etc. deal with the individual person and the incompetency. I never read or hear about the unwritten policies about white members that were given a pass and sometimes promoted while being incompetent.
This all so silly. Simply deal with individual RCMP members or Cadets in relation to their incompetence. If you are going to single out one group then single out all of them OR as I suggest name names and describe incidents and demand accountability.
You use the term -You can’t have it both ways- I used the same term in my article written in the Canadian Police Association Magazine. This was in relation to Employment Equity programs. Remove the programs but also remove racist behaviour. You can’t have it both ways.
I can assure you that I have experienced first hand retribution for speaking truth to power and giving my name. The bill has been submitted and I am paying the price to this day.
The spot light has to be placed on people who are intentionally involved in wrong doing. They should be judged by comparing their actions or inactions to the core values of the organization.
We either stand up and be counted or lie down and be counted out.
Calvin Lawrence
CGL Consulting
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Gear down big rig. You seem to misinterpret the signs Calvin. The mentality of hiring quotas is one that even you have railed against. You cannot deny that the entrance requirements for minorities was less than the norm in order to attract said minorities to reach quotas. It has NOTHING to do with the non-white or female members of society, rather it has everything to do with the government pandering to some misguided effort to appease vocal groups of visible minorities that want in whether or not they actually qualify. So as far as I am concerned you can cease to be amazed. White males may have made, and still make up the majority of trainees in the RCMP, but that proves nothing.
Do not be so quick to pull the trigger on the race card. I have NEVER denigrated the hiring, training, or actions of any member of the RCMP due to their skin color or minority status. I have issues with special treatment for non hackers regardless of their minority status. If they were hired and do not make the grade, the skin color does not matter to me. The tawdry reasons behind their hiring in the first place is my issue.
Bully for you and your 28 years in the RCMP. You just may be old enough to remember that Natives, Chinese, Japanese, and Blacks have made up the RCMP for many years. Albeit hired at a time under the same criteria as everybody else, doing the job and not facing discrimination of any kind, from the RCMP members they worked with. Having the privilege of calling several “visible” minority RCMP members my friends for many years, I know of what I speak.
Execute your own direction and do not generalize or in point, misinterpret to assuage your own views. Glad you use your own name, I am sure the free publicity assists your company with its yearly bottom line. Not that I would wish to generalize your intentions.
Jabberwocky, one of elements most misunderstood in intelligence matters is the manner of collection of said intelligence and from whom. Release of certain information denotes its authorship or origin and can lead to unpleasant effects for individuals or groups or compromise methods of collection. There is also the “third party rule” limiting use of other agency information.
Those who do not learn form the past are doomed to repeat its mistakes or fail to learn from its successes.
Maybe the public does not care if whiney cant work night shifts, because they do not know about it. Imagine: “Sorry, cannot come to your place and check for a prowler because we have nobody willing to work in the dark on shift tonight.” NOT something the public would like to hear, but they would not anyway would they. The law enforcement community owes it to the public they serve to have persons ready willing and able to assist them regardless of conditions. And I am sure they do not have a preference for mind over muscles, unless perhaps they are subject of domestic violence and the lone person sent is a small understrength individual who tries to reason ad naseum with a large drunk and violent perpetrator when an arrest and removal is in order.
Zaccardelli was indeed a product of said era, however, he was Commissioned after only 16 years, with little time to actually accumulate a thorough knowledge of police work which would tell you that he was a political animal from the outset. That in the latter days of his career he chose to succumb to megalomania as a Deputy Minister of the government does not detract from the training he qualified for, completed, and eventually, discarded. I do not recall anyone saying that the system was perfect, only better than that of today.
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Calvin, lets be clear here. I was attacking senator Kenny and his remarks regarding quota ’s and staffing levels. At no time did I ever use the word “All” in respect to minoriy and female incomeptence. Lets not make this into a broader issue.
My point was to attack the system that in my opinion lets in too many incompetent people, which by the way you have also attacked in the past as well. I am sorry, but when women and minorities gain employment when they have scored less than others that have been rejected, their abilities will never be percieved by the public as up to par. You can’t have it both ways.
Also, I would like to comment on your remarks about concealing identity when statements are made. Well, it is very easy to give your name when you are on the “politically correct” side of the issue. Incase you haven’t noticed we are living in the age of the “Thought Police”. If and when in this country you can present a conservative point of view without fearing retribution, than you will see others coming out as you have. This goes for other liberal sacred cows such as bilingualsim, immigration, heath care, and the welfare state.
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By the by, I would also note that Zaccardelli was a proud product of the pre-80s recruiting system…
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With regards to the McDonald Commission: I do understand that the report tried to parse out the intelligence arm of the RCMP from the criminal side of the force.
The report does not, however, make mention of the ease of transfer between the two branches of the RCMP. I am highly doubtful that an officer was completely committed to either one or the other.
The report, as published then, also withheld details of barn burning, dynamite theft and planting, etc… presumably because it would damage the reputation of the RCMP so badly that the public would lose confidence in them.
I might offer that the McDonald Commission’s 1) strenuous efforts to separate the criminal and intelligence branches and 2) failure to disclose the full report of the public were done as much for political reasons as anything else. A happy side-effect being that the RCMP did not formally lose a great deal of face at the street level.
Unfortunately, the semantics played by the McDonald Commission are of little comfort – the notion that 1/2 the water from a well is not tainted while the other 1/2 of the water is not fit for consumption is asinine.
With regards to recruiting: I think the changes that the RCMP has undergone in the last several years is likely reflective of broader changes in the workforce in general and also reflects changes, both in statute and common law, of the rights afforded to people as 1) People and 2) Employees.
Our ideas around policing have also drastically changed in the last 30 odd years or so.
Now, whether or not all of these changes amount to a good thing, I don’t know. I would prefer to not assign concepts of “good” or “bad” to this; I would rather just accept it as the inevitable change (let us not forget how resistant to change military and paramilitary organizations can be) and figure out what to do from here instead of bemoaning a lost past.
At the end of the day, do you really think Joe Citizen cares that Cst. Whiney won’t work the night shifts? Not really. What Joe Citizen cares about are 1) the integrity of Cst. Whiney 2) the reasonableness of Cst. Whiney and 3) the ability of Cst. Whiney to use his mind and his mouth before his muscles.
On the subject of the politicization of the force: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winnipeg_General_Strike
I don’t like wiki, but it will do for now.
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JohnnyG
`It was under the helm of the liberals that depot was shut down and an entire generation of white males was denied employment in the force in favor of these women and minorities he so strongly advocates for.
The reason the women and minority numbers are what they are due to a few reasons.`
Deepthroat
Spot on JohnnyG
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It never ceases to amaze me how quick some people are to blame non-white people (Members and Cadets) for the problems in the RCMP.
I don’t know where you get you information or shall I say false information. White males have always made up the majority of troops at Depot.
How do I know this? I was an RCMP officer for 28 Years. I was stationed at Depot for 5 Years. I am giving my name when I make statements.
What I suggest is that you gets your facts straight before saying that all the WOMEN AND NON-WHITE members are unable to be functioning cadets and RCMP Members.
Whenever we generalize we lose accuracy!!!!!
Calvin Lawrence
CGL Consulting
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The intertroop discipline works well when people make it for the good of the collective and not about themselves. The problem nowdays is often works the opposite of they way it worked years ago.
Intertroop dicipline still goes on, but the problem is that the dominant clique imposes its rules (ones that are in their best intrest and not that of the org) on everyone else as they set the standard for the troop. For example, in the old days, everyone shined their boots because the whole group would pay if one person didn’t. If someone was good at shining boots than, they were more than willing to help. Now days if you don’t shine your boots, just you pay. You are sent to “Bozo” pardade first thing the next morning. Nowdays someone might even blame someone else such as the guy next to him for doing too good of a job and making him look bad. These are the kinds of lazy individuals that now permeate the force that are only interested in doing the bare minimum and keeping others from ever raising the bar. These selfish individuals don’t want to learn how to do things at the next level, they expect everyone else to do it at their standard. The attitude then becomes, if you take pride and do extra work that means I have to”. If you tell such people to buzz off, there is nothing they can say to you about the issue. But, this isn’t where it ends. They will get even by doing everything they can behind your back to destroy your reputation and have you removed from training.
The campaign includes:
-Constant and trivial nitpicking
-Spreading malicious lies and rumors
-finding everything you say is twisted around and misreprestented
-The ruling clique tries to socially isolate you.
The old addage of “overcome and adapt” has been used to sum up such situations. But, it is impossible to fight an invisible enemy that is posioning you to your boss, especially one who is a lazy careerist.
The old troop interdicipline was different than this. It was about weeding out the non hackers. It was about getting people to conform to group excellence and it was about the truth and not lies. The kind of stuff that goes on in training today is nothing like what a lot of guys that went through training in the 1960’s even witnessed. Heck what goes on today is nothing like what guys learn in the Canadian forces.
Nowdays, you see the non hackers trying to week out the hackers. As crazy as it sounds, you are many times more likely to get hounded out of depot if you are the strongest in the troop, rather than the weakest. The weak threaten nobody and are kept around to make the non hackers look good. Personally I believe this is the I/ME system at it’s worst and this is a cause for some of the cancer and the rot you see today.
This is also why there are some wide disparities between troops. With the adult learning/university campus mentality the group sets the standard for itself, not the force.
I guess my point is the regimental training was meant to bring out the best in everone for the good of everyone. Training today brings out the worst in everone for the good of themselves.
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You fail to paraphrase some important details of your links. Firstly the McDonald Commission was fully informed of all activities by the Force with respect to the initiatives of the Security Service. It was the Commissioner who offered the Criminal side of the Force to be examined as well as the Security side, stating that the Force had nothing to hide. The CO of BC at the time was Henry Jensen who went public with the information on “surreptitious entries”, their use and outcomes and was quoted in the papers at the time. The fact that it was later deemed to be “unlawful activity” did not tarnish the facts that all incidents were done in the public interest and in good faith by the members at the time and most importantly not contrary to any stated prohibition to the state.
This was accountability and integrity shown by the Force and its members. Plenty of examples abound including the issues with “writs of assistance” that gave the federal drug and customs members of the RCMP a permanent search warrant to search for drugs and contraband upon its production. A minute examination of this blanket search warrant used by dozens of members Canada wide over numerous years resulted in only one instance of possible “abuse” in using a drug writ for a customs search. The only reason they were discontinued was that the DOJ told the RCMP that sometime in the future they may become contentious and better to let them lapse.
Previous standards for entry into the RCMP were quite rigid and by their very nature coupled with the para military structure engendered the best possible employees given the mandate and operations. People who were afraid of the dark, refused work, or any of the above noted ills were not tolerated. Inter troop discipline was allowed and weeded out the unfit or unwilling. Whining and wheedling about transfers was minimal and not subject to “grievance” as the “needs of the Force” took precedence.
Examples of the times being “halcyon” are legion and also extend into mega files completed against organized crime and other noteworthy investigations without political interference.
The Force used to be separated from the government much better than it is today. That in itself is enough to call previous days halcyon.
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And for those of you who moan about political interference, let us go right back to the roots of the force:
http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/confederation/023001-2390-e.html
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Not that I disagree with everything above, but for those of you who think that turning back the recruiting clock will bring us back to the halcyon days of the RCMP, I’d say that you have a very short memory or haven’t done a whole lot of reading and that those halcyon days probably never existed. Let us start with this little project:
http://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/200/301/pco-bcp/commissions-ef/mcdonald1979-81-eng/mcdonald1979-81-eng.htm
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The I/Me mentality is one of the biggest plagues in the force today. I believe Deepthroat is on the money regarding the terrible promotion system. However, this whole mentality permeates the force and starts with the cadets in training.
Lets face it. You cannot instill pride and esprit de corps with adult learning practices. It is a great mind strategy, but a very poor one to develop hearts. You can learn to be a police officer out of a book, but you can’t learn to be a “Mountee” this way.
I believe the demiliterization of training occured for a few reasons, and I don’t believe a word of that “community policing” model crap. 1. as a cost cutting measure, less staff is required. 2. to make depot more attractive to females. 3. To have a system a team work system where the strong were pulling through the weak. However, if you hire on merit, you wouldn’t have to worry about the last point.
What was also good about the former way of training was, troops developed tighter bonds. Yes, there was peer pressure, but it was geared more towards the excellence and the collective.
Nowadays, with the I/Me mentality and the culture of entitlement that comes with it creates an atmosphere where the attitude is “If you work extra hard, that means I have to.” In this lightly supervised adult learning mentality is where things can fall off the rails. The mentailty in an entitled culutre when such jealousy develops is that it is easier to drag someone else down, than it is to come up to their level. Instead of pulling each other up, there is more putting others down. There is no “I” in TEAM!
Also in respect to community policing, this is double speak right out of a George Orwell novel. Today’s RCMP officers make all the right grunts and noises about the concept. Some years ago a commissioner once said, “We will never impliment community policing as long as the 20+ year guys are around. But, the reality of it is most of the new guard don’t get involved or even live in the communities they serve in. Yes there is more symbolism than ever before, but when you don’t hire the kind of people that can relate to others in this capacity, than this is where many of the public respect issues arise.
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I have to respond to the comments posted and attributed to both Elliott and Kenny and as well the money being spent by senior executives.
Well why does the RCMP have to spend money for the senior officers to find out they are accountable? Even the lowest recruit should know they are accountable for their actions. It is readily apparent to anyone who is in anyway associated to the RCMP that accountability to most in Ottawa means you can’t make a decision because it could impact negatively on your career later.
Want to know how to improve the officer corps. Put people in it who have done police work, not people who can write a good I / ME story. I can name a good number of senior officers in Ottawa who have spent less than three years in a marked police car doing actual police work. Then they went into an administrative position and just bounced around in that playing politics. Lets call the spade a spade, rank and file members on the street have absolutely no faith in Elliot. He has not done anything to inspire confidence in the Force. Can you name any one thing that he has done for the good, oh yes, he approved that they didn’t have to wear a tie anymore when wearing a jacket. Makes everyone sleep better.
Sen Kenny also has no idea what is going on. Ottawa is not the real world. Kenny thinks the RCMP has improved marine security and airport security. Mr Kenny, how many marine patrols per day for security are done by the RCMP other than on the Great Lakes…..NONE.
Is the east coast of Canada wide open for criminal or terrorist activity, yes it is. Here’s a lesson in geography to the rest of Canada. In order to get onto the Great Lakes, what seaway do you have to travel. ANS – the St Lawrence. Where is the mouth of the St Lawrence and if ships are coming from south, north or the east, do they have to travel close to Atlantic Canada provinces ? Yes they do.
So do you think terrorists etc who are traveling by boat onto the Great Lakes would first have to pass other Provinces and possible targets? Are the people of Atlantic Canada less valuable than those in Quebec or Ontario? Obviously they are or the Harper government and the RCMP would spend millions protecting them right!
The RCMP has no marine presence in eastern Canada other than a patrol boat in NL which, from stories that I hear, is shut down because it doesn’t have any money to operate as those funds are being used to pay the RCMP bill for the Olympics.
Way to go Harper on your law and order platform. Way to go Elliot for making positive change for the better within the RCMP. Way to go Kenny for ensuring Canada is safe.
Its only a matter of time before this sad state of affairs blows up in someone’s’ face. Then all we will hear from the three amigo’s (Harper, Elliot and Kenny) is ” there are lessons to be learned here so we can do better next time”
This would be funny if it wasn’t so serious. I have lost faith in the RCMP management and the politicians and the Senator. There are four bright spots within the organization though. I won’t name them for obvious reasons but if someone would ever bother to check with the working cops you will hear the same story for all. They are “honorable” people and believe in what the RCMP stands for. “Honorable” not a term you hear much anymore is it? Rick Hillier was also described that way.
These officers make a decision based on what is good for the members and the RCMP. They also make it quite clear that everything rests on their shoulders and are accountable. Refreshing to hear this day and age.
You know what, I don’t believe either one of them had to be sent to Arizona to learn they were accountable either. No that can’t be right. The Commissioner went there so it must be good. Anyone have any stories when the Commissioner was in depot? Darn, I keep forgetting he is a clerk and never went through basic training.
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Spot on JohnnyG. I would add that the vast amount of money to be spent on the senior executives sounds wonderful but what a waste on people close to retirement. The shortsightedness is so blatant. The only way things will change systemically at the top of an organization is if the present generation is properly trained and educated when their time comes to take those positions.
The I/ME promotion system has done more to damage the organization than anything some Deputy Commissioner could do. With a simple revert to past skills/seniority system and an inclusion of the 360 degree performance module, you could avoid a rash of unsuitable people climbing the so called ladder. Simple, cheap and effective as proven in numerous other occupations, however, ignored in the RCMP.
All the “good news” is fine, except what are you doing about the incompetent detachment commanders here now? Officers who have shown a trail of sowing poor morale, misguided programs and toady behavior to politicians? Presently you call your provincial counterpart in another province and have the senior officer buried there as a favor. No fortitude to reduce the person in rank for sowing such disaster in their wake.
And of course why is it that the RCMP tolerates people who after a short time in the occupation, cannot work night shifts, are afraid of the dark, have to have their meals right on time, get sick at accident scenes, do not like to back up other officers because of the potential for violence, repeatedly go on stress leave? I would suggest a zero tolerance for such individuals. Why would you aspire to an occupation such as a police officer when you are afraid of the dark?
I re-emphasize JohnnyG’s assertion of government interference vis a vis hiring practices. A omnipresent edifice to political pandering I have yet to see surpassed. Skills, ability, an adherence to high standards would be the primary ingredient for re-instilling pubic confidence. Unfortunately it sounds nice and fuzzy, but it is not everyone’s God given right to do whatever, wherever they please in life. There is a reason that the 4′2″ person does not make the NBA.
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Liberal Senator Colin Kenny has no clue what he is talking about. Spoken like a true politition, and one that didn’t even pay his dues. This guy is proof Canada needs a triple E senate.
It was under the helm of the liberals that depot was shut down and an entire generation of white males was denied employment in the force in favor of these women and minorities he so strongly advocates for.
The reason the women and minority numbers are what they are due to a few reasons.
The force being focused on filling quota’s puts too many people in training that are such obvious failures that it shouldn’t be a surprise to them when they wash out. Think I am exaggerating? The number is much higher than most would ever believe.
Many of them also quit, the attrittion rate of females is atleast twice that of white males. Yeah, it sucks to be a city girl when you get sent to northern Manitoba. But, such is life….
I also hate to disappoint anyone here, but men and women have different aptitudes and ambitions. Men perform better in training and are drawn to the job in more numbers for a reason. Liberals don’t mind telling us the ways they think women are superiour at given tasks, but never do the same when it is in regards to males.
Lastly, what undercuts the RCMP’s credibility is not having a more politically correct organization, but a more compentant and honorable one. The force was far more respected by the average person before all the standards went out the window for the sake of inclusion. I know plenty of people who don’t like the force because of how they feel they are not worthy of the uniform they wear, only special interest groups and lobbyiests on parliment hill care about what he speaks about.
It looks like Depot is working towards a good mind strategy, but i believe they will still continue to fall short on instilling heart.
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