03/08/06, Gary Mason, Richmond's mounting troubles with RCMP start at top
Post
VANCOUVER -- It's time someone took a serious look at how the RCMP is run in this country. But I won't hold my breath.
The City of Richmond also thinks someone should take a closer look at our national police force. In fact, councillors there have had enough of the Mounties. They recently voted to examine the feasibility of establishing a unique force for the city, just like those in Vancouver and many other Lower Mainland municipalities.
Why? Because the city is sick of paying 90 per cent of the RCMP's costs and not having any say in how the money is spent. The final straw came when the Mounties presented the city with a bill for $1-million, its share of a regional emergency response team.
"[The response team] may be a great idea," long-time Councillor Derek Dang says. "But there was no forewarning. By law we have to balance our budgets and because of that we need some say and control over our costs. The current situation with the Mounties is unworkable. The [RCMP] leadership in Vancouver and Ottawa, they just don't care what we have to say."
He says the city is happy with the local force, which has tried in recent years to implement innovative methods to fight crime and educate young criminals so they won't offend again. He says, however, that some of the more unorthodox and cutting-edge programs being used by the RCMP in Richmond are now being undermined by old-school thinking coming out of headquarters in Ottawa.
"The RCMP officials back east seem a bit out of touch on some issues," Mr. Dang says.
No kidding.
Just this week an internal RCMP communications strategy was obtained by The Vancouver Sun.
It suggested the force start giving less information to the media so there would be fewer crime-based stories in the news, thereby creating less irrational fear among citizens who might be concerned about their safety and who might begin thinking police are doing a poor job of protecting them.
That sounds about right to me. Earlier this year, one of the force's top media relations officials, John Ward, said, "The public doesn't have a right to know anything," when it comes to the force's internal investigation of civilian deaths at the hands of RCMP officers.
It has now been eight months since Ian Bush was killed in a RCMP lockup in Houston, B.C., after being arrested for having an open beer outside a hockey game. Eight months in, and the RCMP have said nothing about the incident other than to lay the early blame on an unarmed Mr. Bush.
Nathan Cullen, MP for Skeena-Bulkely Valley, made headlines when he admitted he was afraid to pursue the matter too aggressively in Ottawa because the RCMP might destroy his career.
He later apologized for the comment. Why, we're not sure, because he was only saying what he honestly believed.
Many politicians fear taking on the Mounties for that very reason.
The former head of the federal civilian watchdog agency in charge of the RCMP said in a published interview this year that her time on the job was a nightmare.
Shirley Heafey, a respected lawyer who chaired the RCMP public complaints commission for eight years, said the Liberal government did not want her angering the RCMP or investigating it too aggressively.
The RCMP leadership, meantime, resented her, she said.
In the interview, Ms. Heafey called RCMP Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli a "bit of a bully" who resisted turning over files.
"He just didn't co-operate," Ms. Heafey said. "We met regularly and he said: 'You don't have the right to this information and I am the one who decides what you get.' "
And people wonder why a culture of secrecy and arrogance permeates many levels of the force?
It goes without saying that most RCMP officers are well-meaning, hard-working folk who perform an important and often dangerous job.
Many have died doing it. Unfortunately, this always forms the basis of the response the RCMP has to any criticisms about the way it does its business.
We don't understand the job they do. We don't put our lives on the line every day like they do. So we should all just shut up.
And mostly we do. Canadians are good at that, especially if it's the police telling us to.
Wes Pue, a professor of law at the University of British Columbia and an expert on the RCMP, says it's time the RCMP Act was overhauled. It needs more accountability built into it.
"Look," he says, "this is a good force in general but it is terrible at some things. The RCMP is dreadful at investigating themselves and it stonewalls the public complaints commission every chance they get.
"The smart thing to do is not to try and cover things up, and yet the Mounties keep doing it again and again and again. The RCMP Act needs to be reviewed. The public complaints commission doesn't have a big enough budget to do an effective job. It's effectively toothless.
"Very serious issues are being swept under the rug all the time."
If the City of Richmond has its way, it may just sweep the RCMP out of town. Maybe then someone will ask why.
The City of Richmond also thinks someone should take a closer look at our national police force. In fact, councillors there have had enough of the Mounties. They recently voted to examine the feasibility of establishing a unique force for the city, just like those in Vancouver and many other Lower Mainland municipalities.
Why? Because the city is sick of paying 90 per cent of the RCMP's costs and not having any say in how the money is spent. The final straw came when the Mounties presented the city with a bill for $1-million, its share of a regional emergency response team.
"[The response team] may be a great idea," long-time Councillor Derek Dang says. "But there was no forewarning. By law we have to balance our budgets and because of that we need some say and control over our costs. The current situation with the Mounties is unworkable. The [RCMP] leadership in Vancouver and Ottawa, they just don't care what we have to say."
He says the city is happy with the local force, which has tried in recent years to implement innovative methods to fight crime and educate young criminals so they won't offend again. He says, however, that some of the more unorthodox and cutting-edge programs being used by the RCMP in Richmond are now being undermined by old-school thinking coming out of headquarters in Ottawa.
"The RCMP officials back east seem a bit out of touch on some issues," Mr. Dang says.
No kidding.
Just this week an internal RCMP communications strategy was obtained by The Vancouver Sun.
It suggested the force start giving less information to the media so there would be fewer crime-based stories in the news, thereby creating less irrational fear among citizens who might be concerned about their safety and who might begin thinking police are doing a poor job of protecting them.
That sounds about right to me. Earlier this year, one of the force's top media relations officials, John Ward, said, "The public doesn't have a right to know anything," when it comes to the force's internal investigation of civilian deaths at the hands of RCMP officers.
It has now been eight months since Ian Bush was killed in a RCMP lockup in Houston, B.C., after being arrested for having an open beer outside a hockey game. Eight months in, and the RCMP have said nothing about the incident other than to lay the early blame on an unarmed Mr. Bush.
Nathan Cullen, MP for Skeena-Bulkely Valley, made headlines when he admitted he was afraid to pursue the matter too aggressively in Ottawa because the RCMP might destroy his career.
He later apologized for the comment. Why, we're not sure, because he was only saying what he honestly believed.
Many politicians fear taking on the Mounties for that very reason.
The former head of the federal civilian watchdog agency in charge of the RCMP said in a published interview this year that her time on the job was a nightmare.
Shirley Heafey, a respected lawyer who chaired the RCMP public complaints commission for eight years, said the Liberal government did not want her angering the RCMP or investigating it too aggressively.
The RCMP leadership, meantime, resented her, she said.
In the interview, Ms. Heafey called RCMP Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli a "bit of a bully" who resisted turning over files.
"He just didn't co-operate," Ms. Heafey said. "We met regularly and he said: 'You don't have the right to this information and I am the one who decides what you get.' "
And people wonder why a culture of secrecy and arrogance permeates many levels of the force?
It goes without saying that most RCMP officers are well-meaning, hard-working folk who perform an important and often dangerous job.
Many have died doing it. Unfortunately, this always forms the basis of the response the RCMP has to any criticisms about the way it does its business.
We don't understand the job they do. We don't put our lives on the line every day like they do. So we should all just shut up.
And mostly we do. Canadians are good at that, especially if it's the police telling us to.
Wes Pue, a professor of law at the University of British Columbia and an expert on the RCMP, says it's time the RCMP Act was overhauled. It needs more accountability built into it.
"Look," he says, "this is a good force in general but it is terrible at some things. The RCMP is dreadful at investigating themselves and it stonewalls the public complaints commission every chance they get.
"The smart thing to do is not to try and cover things up, and yet the Mounties keep doing it again and again and again. The RCMP Act needs to be reviewed. The public complaints commission doesn't have a big enough budget to do an effective job. It's effectively toothless.
"Very serious issues are being swept under the rug all the time."
If the City of Richmond has its way, it may just sweep the RCMP out of town. Maybe then someone will ask why.
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