Completely agree.You and I both agree the system needs to change. Again, change only can happen within a certain sphere of influence.
The Canadian surveys I have seen on average show lower levels of support for police since George Floyd and the Defund the Police Movement. But not substantially. Greater police support in rural areas, lower in the larger cities.There's been a number of stories lately in the news that's not painting police in the best light. I'd be curious to see if support for the thin blue line has went up or down.
My father and I were pretty close to my uncle. He was a Metro police officer for 30 years ( to the day ). He never married, so we got to spend a lot of time with him. He said they deployed heavily into high crime areas. Naturally. Why there was higher crime? Sociological problems, education, DNA... who knows?Greater police support in rural areas, lower in the larger cities.
Some of the communities that had the highest CSIs and the worst underlying social issues were also where I made the best friends in the local population and got the most appreciation. Its where I also got used to the community leadership, vilifying us publicly and at the same time praising us privately. To the point of being offended if after a public meeting and beheading We refused to come over for dinner.My father and I were pretty close to my uncle. He was a Metro police officer for 30 years ( to the day ). He never married, so we got to spend a lot of time with him. He said they deployed heavily into high crime areas. Naturally. Why there was higher crime? Sociological problems, education, DNA... who knows?
Quieter areas complained they were paying for protection that was going elsewhere.
He said those high crime areas were the only communities that voted regularly for police pay raises and improving benefits. And the police gave them the best service they could.
Saw a few TBL "battle flags" at the Washington D.C. incident.
Our department was sent regularly into the projects. You had to watch for incoming "air mail".Some of the communities that had the highest CSIs and the worst underlying social issues were also where I made the best friends in the local population and got the most appreciation. Its where I also got used to the community leadership, vilifying us publicly and at the same time praising us privately. To the point of being offended if after a public meeting and beheading We refused to come over for dinner.
I don’t know what the answer is either. But my faith in the experts knowing the answer is also not high.Our department was sent regularly into the projects. You had to watch for incoming "air mail".
Back in 1984 one of our guys started a Children's Breakfast Club in Falstaff TCHC. Got the idea from the Black Panthers, apparently.
Not to suggest Children's Breakfast Clubs are the answer. I don't know what is. There's all sorts of studies by the experts.
Yea the abolish the police shit is stupid. We need more cops IMO.But who can blame lots of people. For those that are easily swayed, the narrative was overwhelming.
William "Bill" Parker was chief of the LAPD from 1950 - 65.This month it's a recap of the Ottawa police's Constable Eric Posts 32 charges, including sexual assault, plea bargained down to 5 after what appeared to be a prolonged campaign to ignore complaints against him.
Officer from Hamilton's behavior towards a disabled Transgendered person caught on camera.
Barrie Police losing control and smashing up a skateboarder sending him to the hospital with head trauma.
Man in Montreal wrongly ID'd and held for 6 days.
15 year rcmp vet charged with child porn and 5 people dying in police custody or with police present.
I can’t say anything except that these are all examples of what is bad in policing. Like any other occupation, we have bad people. Like other occupations, we can only strive to make up for the bad with overwhelming good.Yea the abolish the police shit is stupid. We need more cops IMO.
That's not the behavior I'm talking about however.
This month it's a recap of the Ottawa police's Constable Eric Posts 32 charges, including sexual assault, plea bargained down to 5 after what appeared to be a prolonged campaign to ignore complaints against him.
Officer from Hamilton's behavior towards a disabled Transgendered person caught on camera.
Barrie Police losing control and smashing up a skateboarder sending him to the hospital with head trauma.
Man in Montreal wrongly ID'd and held for 6 days.
15 year rcmp vet charged with child porn and 5 people dying in police custody or with police present.
Busy two weeks.
Andcurt is saying frontline officers who have been told not to wear the thin blue line stuff are disobeying orders and still wearing them. Makes you wonder.
I think the power is in the badge, knowing you can always call on your colleagues for help.I don’t need the TBL on my vest, to know I have solidarity with other cops (and emergency workers And our citizens). But for some, symbols are very important in helping them remember that solidarity.
Yea the abolish the police shit is stupid. We need more cops IMO.
That's not the behavior I'm talking about however.
This month it's a recap of the Ottawa police's Constable Eric Posts 32 charges, including sexual assault, plea bargained down to 5 after what appeared to be a prolonged campaign to ignore complaints against him.
Officer from Hamilton's behavior towards a disabled Transgendered person caught on camera.
Barrie Police losing control and smashing up a skateboarder sending him to the hospital with head trauma.
Man in Montreal wrongly ID'd and held for 6 days.
15 year rcmp vet charged with child porn and 5 people dying in police custody or with police present.
Busy two weeks.
Andcurt is saying frontline officers who have been told not to wear the thin blue line stuff are disobeying orders and still wearing them. Makes you wonder.
As a civilian investigator with Alberta SOLGEN, we currently have a file open against a police officer who’s situation seems similar to the one mentioned above.
Multiple complaints against him made by various parties - all very much ignored, or somehow justified.
Criminal harassment against multiple individuals - dismissed as they have had a hard time pulling their phone records. Most of them being younger females, who have all consistently complained about 15 to 20 phone calls EVERY DAY for weeks on end. (Heaven forbid the police assist with accessing their phone records.)
Lied about fabricating witness statements, despite the fact that EVERY SINGLE WITNESS STATEMENT is in his writing. Some of the witnesses he allegedly took these statements from have confirmed they weren’t even contacted by the officer. (He literally just wrote out their statement for them and submitted it as evidence, despite that person not being contacted at all)
Blatantly committed perjury. Told court the suspect only answered 2 questions, and was extremely uncooperative. (Truth is, the suspect went to the police station when requested, and spoke to the officer for almost 3hrs).
The list goes on & on. And on. And on.
The problem with some policing issues isn’t necessarily society. It’s a culture in “some” police services (typically smaller services) where accountability of more senior officers tends to be neglected.
This officer is very charismatic, friendly, shakes hands and is very charming. I think a lot of people just take his word for it, without actually looking at his work very closely.
^^ While possibly some issues rooted in society, our profession demands & expects us to be better than the average citizen when it comes to integrity. It’s leadership neglecting to hold problem members accountable that emboldens them.
I can understand that.
The problem is its unrealistic to think you are going to get better than the average citizen in any profession, you will have your top 1/3 and middle 1/3, but you will also have your bottom 1/3. Regardless of what the outside image and desired public perception is.
If society has systemic issues than a percentage of recruits we hire will bring them with them. You cannot change Policing or CAF culture until you have societal cultural shift. Again this doesn't mean we don't take action on offences and prosecute the guilty. All I am saying is this isn't going to stop, or even slow down until we change as a society. And brother, I have no idea how to do that.
I'll chip in with your analogy of the thirds.
The RCMP, specifically, fails to hire the best possible recruits because its pay is so low, its benefits are now, at best, on par with other big name Municipal forces, and there is literally no incentive to take the job with the RCMP and all the things that come with it. (postings, small town policing, lack of Force owned housing, etc)
These are things that are actively being worked on by the NPF and RCMP, but will take years to correct.
Look no further than the constant changes to the RCMP recruiting process, which no longer requires citizenship, makes allowances for criminal records, and, most shockingly to me, did away with an in person interview. Even McDonald's interviews potential employees.
Yes and no.I can understand that.
The problem is its unrealistic to think you are going to get better than the average citizen in any profession, you will have your top 1/3 and middle 1/3, but you will also have your bottom 1/3. Regardless of what the outside image and desired public perception is.
If society has systemic issues than a percentage of recruits we hire will bring them with them. You cannot change Policing or CAF culture until you have societal cultural shift. Again this doesn't mean we don't take action on offences and prosecute the guilty. All I am saying is this isn't going to stop, or even slow down until we change as a society. And brother, I have no idea how to do that.
Even the city I worked for, interviewed potential employees. And it wasn't one-on-one.Even McDonald's interviews potential employees.
When I was working in recruiting in the CAF way back yonder, Afghanistan was in full swing. We basically had a directive of “hire everybody, regardless of anything other than career criminal.”I would agree, we (Police and CAF) should do better to recruit the best candidates. Unfortunately just like the promotion process in the CAF we don't always get the best; as the "best" is now determined by more than job ability, knowledge and leadership. <cough French language training cough>
When I was working in recruiting in the CAF way back yonder, Afghanistan was in full swing. We basically had a directive of “hire everybody, regardless of anything other than career criminal.”
So we tried to weed out the better applicants from the average, but unless someone was a Class A f**kup on a colossal scale (career criminal type) - we offered employment. (The recruiting process was faster, too.)
Oddly enough, I found some of the applicants that became the best members were the ones that didn’t read well on paper, and who were looking at the CAF as a clean slate. They treated it as such.