featured

23Nov 201923 Nov 2019

Mistakes are Important

Good supervisors permit their people to grow from mistakes and provide an environment where they can be taken in stride.…

Mission creep in firearms training

11 Apr 20182 May 2018

The bank alarm call was only a block away on Toronto's Yonge Street so I told the dispatcher my partner and I would check it out. Working in the fraud…

Reality TV… at a whole new level

4 Apr 201812 Apr 2018

The recent hot media incidents featuring police body cameras raises a few points of concern. My first and most enduring concern is how naive many police agencies can be about…

BACK IN THE DAY

The difference between a good cop and just another cop

28 Mar 20184 Apr 2018

When I was taken off regular beat patrol and assigned a scout car I felt like I had been promoted. As was the practice then, I was partnered with a…

BACK IN THE DAY

The Pristine Beauty of Traffic

19 Mar 201828 Mar 2018

When I was a Traffic training officer I was called into the bosses office. He was seriously concerned about a new officer. A "draftee," ordered to work in our unit.…

A renewed call for a firearms registry

28 Feb 201819 Mar 2018

Responsible gun ownership is the key to the future “Deception is an arrangement of light and dark... chiaroscuro... The people must be made to see white where there is black…

BACK IN THE DAY

If the walls could talk

19 Jan 20182 May 2018

Drive south along Toronto’s Yonge Street and just north of Eglinton you might spot an old brown-stone building on the west side of the street which more recently has been…

Give me a break

12 Jan 20182 May 2018

Tight budgets mean stressed out cops There is a new style of police management which has a focus on efficiency. The old phrase of "doing more with less" appears to…

A judicial common sense revolution

14 Dec 201728 Feb 2018

Currently, or in the near future, we may have some political hopefuls looking for some common sense ideas on which to build their fame. Here is some food for thought.…

Engaging a Charter Right

20 Nov 20172 May 2018

The Canadian aversion to arming parallel law enforcement personnel concerns me. Responding to alarm calls in my early years, I recall the ‘key holder’ security car officers always had a…

An honour removed by parentheses

31 Oct 201714 Dec 2017

In the past I have had many concerns over the Canadian Police and Peace Officer’s Memorial situated on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. When it was first planned I questioned the…

“Flicking the switch” aspect of policing

20 Sep 201714 Dec 2017

After years and years of listening to the woes of small agency police chiefs on this amalgamation issue it is clear there is one, and only one factor, that can…

Cops are ordinary people doing extraordinary things

11 Jul 201723 Dec 2017

Simple rules to a successful police/citizen encounter: 1. Never get mad. 2. Keep your hands to yourself. 3. Always intend to keep control. 4. Don’t scare me. This advice, given to…

Apologetic policing can cost lives

11 Jul 201717 Jul 2017

One of my neighbours recently got a speeding ticket for going five kilometres over the limit in a 40 km zone. I asked how fast he was really going and…

Ignoring the parsimonious politicians

14 Jun 201717 Jul 2017

Today’s problems surrounding police really come down to two main issues — the lack of firm direction from provinces and the bottom-line bean counters in municipal governments. There haven’t been…

BACK IN THE DAY

Hilda was no ordinary store detective

22 May 201723 Jul 2017

Shoplifting calls were common when I was on patrol. Upon arrival wide-eyed store staff would direct me to a back room, telling me the store detective had a person in…

Overseas missions must consider a hierarchy of needs

21 May 201723 Jul 2017

Sending Canadian police officers on “training missions” to teach people how to police in a war zone is complete folly. The citizenry will probably not understand the difference between police…

BACK IN THE DAY…

Take back the streets… or go for a coffee

21 May 201723 Jul 2017

While patrolling a high crime neighbourhood I heard a report of an armed robbery at an all night gas bar. Several cars responded and called out a description of a…

Peace keepers vs. peace makers

21 May 201717 Jul 2017

A recent call to send “peace keepers” to Syria has once again confused police with soldiers in the public’s mind. The problem has become even more acute in Canada, with…