New top cop vows hard line
andyt @ Wed Dec 21, 2011 1:34 pm
$1:
Bob Paulson officially took over as RCMP commissioner Thursday, vowing to take a hard line on systemic problems in the police force.
That hard line will be felt almost immediately across the ranks as commanding officers left Ottawa after two days of meetings with their new commissioner.
Paulson said he laid out exactly what will happen when there are allegations of misconduct in the 31,000-member force.
The process is simple: officers will be suspended immediately without pay, have their badge and gun seized and be given a chance to explain themselves.
The swift process was needed to remedy past practices that slowed things due to a "perverted sense" of fair treatment, he said.
"There's no presumption of innocence in disciplinary, administrative proceedings. There is none. I don't want to appear heavy handed, but we're going to act," Paulson told reporters after the ceremony ended.
"The vast majority of our employees are dedicated, hard working men and women who are committed to public safety. The problem is making sure [bad] behaviours are changed and when they're identified, they're acted on swiftly to restore the trust of Canadians."
The tough talk, he said, was needed to assure Canadians the RCMP is taking seriously allegations of misconduct or alleged misconduct and a series of harassment allegations from female members.
"That's not the RCMP that I joined and it's not the RCMP I will lead," Paulson said.
Paulson also pledged other systemic changes, including cutting the size of the force's management and diversifying the senior ranks to ensure at least 35 per cent of the top officers are female.
The goals are plentiful for Paulson, who will also have to deal with a push to unionize officers and the threat of cut-ting costs without depleting front line services.
During the change of command ceremony Thursday in Ottawa, he was also told about continuing work to improve relations between the Mounties and First Nations communities they police.
That hard line will be felt almost immediately across the ranks as commanding officers left Ottawa after two days of meetings with their new commissioner.
Paulson said he laid out exactly what will happen when there are allegations of misconduct in the 31,000-member force.
The process is simple: officers will be suspended immediately without pay, have their badge and gun seized and be given a chance to explain themselves.
The swift process was needed to remedy past practices that slowed things due to a "perverted sense" of fair treatment, he said.
"There's no presumption of innocence in disciplinary, administrative proceedings. There is none. I don't want to appear heavy handed, but we're going to act," Paulson told reporters after the ceremony ended.
"The vast majority of our employees are dedicated, hard working men and women who are committed to public safety. The problem is making sure [bad] behaviours are changed and when they're identified, they're acted on swiftly to restore the trust of Canadians."
The tough talk, he said, was needed to assure Canadians the RCMP is taking seriously allegations of misconduct or alleged misconduct and a series of harassment allegations from female members.
"That's not the RCMP that I joined and it's not the RCMP I will lead," Paulson said.
Paulson also pledged other systemic changes, including cutting the size of the force's management and diversifying the senior ranks to ensure at least 35 per cent of the top officers are female.
The goals are plentiful for Paulson, who will also have to deal with a push to unionize officers and the threat of cut-ting costs without depleting front line services.
During the change of command ceremony Thursday in Ottawa, he was also told about continuing work to improve relations between the Mounties and First Nations communities they police.
Let's hope he means it and isn't sabotaged by the entrenched culture. About time.
BartSimpson @ Wed Dec 21, 2011 2:00 pm
A 'hard line'. That means shouting at criminals *really loud* before shouting at them again.
Robair @ Wed Dec 21, 2011 3:40 pm
Bart,
Read article, THEN post reply.
sandorski @ Wed Dec 21, 2011 4:31 pm
Hopefully he doesn't go too far, but the organization certainly needs a shake up.
Gunnair @ Wed Dec 21, 2011 4:36 pm
BartSimpson BartSimpson:
A 'hard line'. That means shouting at criminals *really loud* before shouting at them again.
I think you need to read it... again.
PublicAnimalNo9 @ Wed Dec 21, 2011 4:39 pm
No, Bart's got it right. There have been more than a few instances where the behaviour has certainly been criminal.
Gunnair @ Wed Dec 21, 2011 4:40 pm
PublicAnimalNo9 PublicAnimalNo9:
No, Bart's got it right. There have been more than a few instances where the behaviour has certainly been criminal.
That's a bit of a stretch.
PublicAnimalNo9 @ Wed Dec 21, 2011 4:42 pm
Gunnair Gunnair:
PublicAnimalNo9 PublicAnimalNo9:
No, Bart's got it right. There have been more than a few instances where the behaviour has certainly been criminal.
That's a bit of a stretch.
Is it?
Gunnair @ Wed Dec 21, 2011 6:08 pm
PublicAnimalNo9 PublicAnimalNo9:
Gunnair Gunnair:
PublicAnimalNo9 PublicAnimalNo9:
No, Bart's got it right. There have been more than a few instances where the behaviour has certainly been criminal.
That's a bit of a stretch.
Is it?
Yep.
andyt @ Thu Dec 22, 2011 1:01 am
$1:
Dziekanski Mounties' perjury trials set for 2012, 2013
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RCMP officer charged with assault causing bodily harm
$1:
Kelowna RCMP Officer Charged with Assault
$1:
RCMP officer charged with assault
$1:
A Kelowna, B.C., RCMP officer has been charged with assault in connection with an incident in January in which a man was kicked in the head after he was apprehended.
Just the first few lines of googling rcmp officer charged assault - all cases while on duty. 2 involve the same officer but different cases. Also another officer has now been to trial twice once in Surrey, once in Kelowna. Believe he was convicted both times. And so on, and so on and so on.
PublicAnimalNo9 @ Thu Dec 22, 2011 1:11 am
andyt andyt:
$1:
Dziekanski Mounties' perjury trials set for 2012, 2013
$1:
RCMP officer charged with assault causing bodily harm
$1:
Kelowna RCMP Officer Charged with Assault
$1:
RCMP officer charged with assault
$1:
A Kelowna, B.C., RCMP officer has been charged with assault in connection with an incident in January in which a man was kicked in the head after he was apprehended.
Just the first few lines of googling rcmp officer charged assault - all cases while on duty. 2 involve the same officer but different cases. Also another officer has now been to trial twice once in Surrey, once in Kelowna. Believe he was convicted both times. And so on, and so on and so on.
I know I'm quoting andy's post Gunnair, but these are the kinds of things I mean.
I'm not one to rag on the police for every little thing but there have been elements within the RCMP that have been playing fast and loose with their authoritah for awhile now.
I hope this new guy is serious because the RCMP could use a little house cleaning.
Strutz @ Thu Dec 22, 2011 1:54 am
$1:
That hard line will be felt almost immediately across the ranks as commanding officers left Ottawa after two days of meetings with their new commissioner.
It will be up to the commanding officers then to prepare their people for what will be now.
It will be interesting to see what changes take place within the RCMP.
BartSimpson @ Thu Dec 22, 2011 11:05 am
Yes, I did read the article. No, I don't believe this guy will be any more effective on crime than SpongeBob Squarepants is. I also doubt like hell that he'll really crack down on criminals with badges because all that will do is to cause the typical Wall of Silence to come up in the ranks.
Police cannot effectively police themselves regardless of how much public posturing a political appointee might do for the cameras.
Bruce_the_vii @ Thu Dec 22, 2011 12:37 pm
The Canadian Almanac used to publish the death rate of the police. At the time it compared with the death rate from accident in the general population. It maybe used to be a dangerous occupation but that is sort of past. Individual acts of heroism are still required but the occupation is less dangerous than resources jobs. There's room for gentlemanly, eh adult, behavior by the front line cops.
andyt @ Fri Dec 23, 2011 1:17 am
$1:
Only radical change will rebuild trust in the RCMP
If nothing else, RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson’s shockingly forthright interview with The Globe and Mail this week demonstrated his deep understanding of the vast, complex mess he has inherited.
As impressive was his willingness to talk about it openly.
For most of its existence, the RCMP has been a very male-dominated and closed organization. One that has been unwilling to recognize and address its shortcomings and that has kept its problems to itself. This institutional closed-mindedness has created the culture that has led to the demise of our once great national police force.
That much, Bob Paulson gets.
As someone who has chronicled the rapid descent of public trust in the Mounties, I can’t tell you how refreshing it was to hear a commissioner speak with such jaw-dropping candour. When he said that a litany of controversies has made some members of the force ashamed to say what they do for a living, I was flabbergasted.
Most shocking of all was his intimation that the Mounties are likely just one or two scandals away from extinction – which is why there is some urgency to his mission of returning the force to its former glory.
All of that is wonderful, of course, and certainly a positive start to the commissioner’s time in what is arguably the hardest job in the country. But for now, they are only words. How he follows through on his bold promises will be the key.
The most recent scandal to dog the force is the harassment allegations that have been levelled by several current and former Mounties. The commissioner said he takes the charges seriously (good!) and that he convened an extraordinary meeting of his most senior officers to discuss how the force will be dealing with them.
Harassment, he said, stems from a misuse of power and remedying the problem means changing people’s behaviour. He wasn’t specific about how he intends to do that. I asked him whether female RCMP officers and the public at large can be confident that his leadership group – those mostly male officers across the country charged with dealing with this crisis – are squeaky clean themselves when it comes to harassment.
He admitted that he doesn’t know for certain and agreed it would be a good idea to find out. Yes, it would be – or else he could be dealing with a colossal embarrassment of his own making right out of the gate.
I wasn’t impressed, either, when the commissioner protested the inclusion of the death of Houston, B.C., millworker Ian Bush among the list of examples of disgraceful conduct by members of the force. “I take issue with that,” he said, clearly agitated. While admitting that the shooting death of Mr. Bush while in custody was a tragedy, he said the facts of the case didn’t warrant the torrent of negative criticism the RCMP received over it.
I suggest the commissioner review the facts again. The officer’s description of how he shot Mr. Bush in the back of the head while lying face-first on a couch with the 200-pound millworker on top of him is difficult to believe. At an inquest, the officer declined an invitation to demonstrate how the shooting occurred.
Many, including one of the world’s leading forensic experts, felt the officer’s description of what happened was anatomically impossible. The way the RCMP investigated the shooting was problem-filled as well.
The Bush death is a classic example of the circle-the-wagons mentality Mr. Paulson admits is a problem for the RCMP. He would be wise not to defend the force’s actions in the case too loudly.
I was struck when the commissioner said he could barely breathe when considering the challenge he faces. He said he wished more people in the force felt the same way. I like that thinking.
The new commissioner does have an unnerving test before him. Nothing less than the future existence of the force rests on his shoulders. We could well be witnessing the Mounties’ last stand.
And that does require a few deep breaths, when you think about it.
If nothing else, RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson’s shockingly forthright interview with The Globe and Mail this week demonstrated his deep understanding of the vast, complex mess he has inherited.
As impressive was his willingness to talk about it openly.
For most of its existence, the RCMP has been a very male-dominated and closed organization. One that has been unwilling to recognize and address its shortcomings and that has kept its problems to itself. This institutional closed-mindedness has created the culture that has led to the demise of our once great national police force.
That much, Bob Paulson gets.
As someone who has chronicled the rapid descent of public trust in the Mounties, I can’t tell you how refreshing it was to hear a commissioner speak with such jaw-dropping candour. When he said that a litany of controversies has made some members of the force ashamed to say what they do for a living, I was flabbergasted.
Most shocking of all was his intimation that the Mounties are likely just one or two scandals away from extinction – which is why there is some urgency to his mission of returning the force to its former glory.
All of that is wonderful, of course, and certainly a positive start to the commissioner’s time in what is arguably the hardest job in the country. But for now, they are only words. How he follows through on his bold promises will be the key.
The most recent scandal to dog the force is the harassment allegations that have been levelled by several current and former Mounties. The commissioner said he takes the charges seriously (good!) and that he convened an extraordinary meeting of his most senior officers to discuss how the force will be dealing with them.
Harassment, he said, stems from a misuse of power and remedying the problem means changing people’s behaviour. He wasn’t specific about how he intends to do that. I asked him whether female RCMP officers and the public at large can be confident that his leadership group – those mostly male officers across the country charged with dealing with this crisis – are squeaky clean themselves when it comes to harassment.
He admitted that he doesn’t know for certain and agreed it would be a good idea to find out. Yes, it would be – or else he could be dealing with a colossal embarrassment of his own making right out of the gate.
I wasn’t impressed, either, when the commissioner protested the inclusion of the death of Houston, B.C., millworker Ian Bush among the list of examples of disgraceful conduct by members of the force. “I take issue with that,” he said, clearly agitated. While admitting that the shooting death of Mr. Bush while in custody was a tragedy, he said the facts of the case didn’t warrant the torrent of negative criticism the RCMP received over it.
I suggest the commissioner review the facts again. The officer’s description of how he shot Mr. Bush in the back of the head while lying face-first on a couch with the 200-pound millworker on top of him is difficult to believe. At an inquest, the officer declined an invitation to demonstrate how the shooting occurred.
Many, including one of the world’s leading forensic experts, felt the officer’s description of what happened was anatomically impossible. The way the RCMP investigated the shooting was problem-filled as well.
The Bush death is a classic example of the circle-the-wagons mentality Mr. Paulson admits is a problem for the RCMP. He would be wise not to defend the force’s actions in the case too loudly.
I was struck when the commissioner said he could barely breathe when considering the challenge he faces. He said he wished more people in the force felt the same way. I like that thinking.
The new commissioner does have an unnerving test before him. Nothing less than the future existence of the force rests on his shoulders. We could well be witnessing the Mounties’ last stand.
And that does require a few deep breaths, when you think about it.