COMMENT Mistakes are Important 23 Nov 201918 Feb 2020 Good supervisors permit their people to grow from mistakes and provide an environment where they can be taken in stride. Mistakes are handled, managed and learned from. The very best…
COMMENT The community fixing toolbox 15 Mar 201915 Apr 2019 All laws are put in place as a toolbox from which law enforcement officers can draw upon to fix a problem in the community. Few things can be…
COMMENT Reading the Riot Act 24 Jan 201915 Mar 2019 Is a seldom used law still relevant? A mob mentality is not a natural disaster, free of human agency. It is a consequence of choices. Those who try to excuse…
COMMENT The Adult In The Room 8 Nov 201824 Jan 2019 Regulatory challenges of cop marijuana use In my police service we had what was called a "Parade for Duty". This meant we all began our shift by standing in…
Uncategorized Former Publisher Honoured 13 Sep 201818 Oct 2022 Morley Lymburner, the founder and former publisher of Blue Line Magazine, was honoured with the Meritorious Service decoration (M.S.M.) from Her Excellency the Right Honourable Julie Payette, Governor General of…
COMMENT Nothing can replace street level intel 16 Aug 201813 Sep 2018 The tragic death of two Fredericton Police officers creates another sad incident reminiscent of Moncton in June of 2014. These incidents cause a crushing blow to the morale of cops…
COMMENT Gaining a level of trust in police 25 Jul 201816 Aug 2018 Many senior police managers fall into a state of apoplectic shock when reporters come knocking with a negative story. They hunker down in their bunkers and wave patriotic flags and…
BACK IN THE DAY… Wearing our mistakes 4 Jul 201825 Jul 2018 Lessons learned about a suitable measure of safety It was a cool rainy Friday evening in September that I heard a 10-33 call to a bar at the rear of…
COMMENT Taking charge between the curbs 25 Jun 20185 Jul 2018 Nothing is more spectacular than a motor vehicle collision scene. Most citizens rarely see one so it’s a memorable event. If they are involved, they never forget it. A citizen…
COMMENT Resisting the allure of a larger agency 18 Jun 201826 Jun 2018 So many people think they know everything about policing, yet no other field of endeavour is more misunderstood by so many. A steady diet of police shows and movies make…
COMMENT Understanding a public need 12 Jun 201818 Jun 2018 With all the good will and need for public support of policing it is strange the police are not more sensitive to the notion of giving back. Eugène François Vidocq,…
BACK IN THE DAY A back-up to remember 4 Jun 201812 Jun 2018 Police dispatchers of a certain era were coppers on the glide path to a gold watch or else they were already looking at one for their time checks. One…
COMMENT Whose side is God on anyway? 29 May 20184 Jun 2018 All police officers are required to take an oath of office, a ritual that goes back beyond the beginning of modern policing. The basic text has remained remarkably consistent throughout…
COMMENT Let’s have a mission statement instead of a licence 24 May 201829 May 2018 We are living in an age when the drivers licence has no meaning. Its original concept was to prove to the police, and not necessarily the public, that the holder…
COMMENT “Moderate risk” to reoffend 18 May 201831 May 2018 Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their disinclination to do so. - Douglas Adams.…
COMMENT Maybe it’s time to put the force back in to the service 11 May 201818 May 2018 The recent rash of police shootings and subsequent studies, trials, investigations and inquests has me concerned. As of late it appears few people give police the benefit of the doubt…
COMMENT A call for a little revenge 1 May 201811 May 2018 He was perhaps 19 or 20 years old. His youthful wrinkle-free face betrayed an attempt to look hardened and contemptuous. A police officer proudly standing beside him told me…
BACK IN THE DAY Give me a dime for every innovative idea 25 Apr 20182 May 2018 Being the new breed of young cop in the early 70’s, I was well prepared to innovate at every opportunity. Innovation, however, is not necessarily the handmaiden of reality. Almost…
BACK IN THE DAY A tale of man and “machine” 18 Apr 20182 May 2018 I recall my number ONE Breathalyzer test. This is “the biggy” that every breath tech worries about because you can imagine what the defence lawyer could do when they found…
COMMENT 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…
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