The BC Civil Rights Association has formally complained about public statements of the RCMP following their violent arrest of Buddy Tavares. The Kelowna man was kicked in the face by Cst. Geoff […]
Circle the wagons, blame the victims
Inaction Report – police still investigate police despite years of review
Consider the connections between the headline about rules on disclosure and other stories involving RCMP. Constable Geoff Mantler might prefer the British system that would have authorized him to arrest and charge […]
Police reform in British Columbia is stalled
The Harper Government removed Paul Kennedy from leadership of the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP and replaced him with a real estate lawyer and political operative who has no police management […]
BC’s police accountability shame will continue indefinitely
Globe and Mail’s Ian Bailey writes Police related deaths in British Columbia: British Columbia had twice as many jail and police-related deaths as much more populous Ontario in a recent 15-year period […]
Would an inquiry tell us things we don’t wish to hear?
I think – or maybe hope – Vancouver Police leadership, taking an uncommon path, is trying to be forthright in its public dealing. Improvement in training and supervision is still needed as proved by […]
Action on RCMP is overdue
RCMP S/Sgt. Bob Meredith, announcing his retirement, said: I’m going away with a feeling of great pride having served for thirty years in what is truly a great and iconic organization. The […]
"vindictive, dishonest, disgraceful behaviour by senior police"
“One of the most troubling aspects of all of this is the imposition of a non-disclosure clause. “This involved public funds paid out at the eleventh hour, and the clause was added […]
Neverending stories never end, chapter n+1
From the Ottawa Citizen, September 2009: The RCMP paid a firm in Arizona more than $44,000 for “executive coaching” and other training for its top official, Commissioner William Elliott, as part of […]
Meaningless apologies result in unchanged behavior
Any person with reasonable observation skills knew early on that four RCMP officers erred badly when they attacked and repeatedly tasered a distraught traveler. Robert Dziekanski was unarmed, compliant, non-threatening and dead […]
Integrity – easier kept than recovered
Following the inquest into the death of Raymond Silverfox, Yukon RCMP Superintendent Peter Clark demonstrated an improved standard of responsibility for managing individuals under his command. “. . . I acknowledge that the […]
Two hits and a miss
A two day visit to Victoria this week allowed me to gather information that will prove useful to future writing in Northern Insights. I met people who were informative and furthered my […]
One more raygun with scary sound fx off the street
We learned this week of four brave gun-toting Quesnel RCMP officers doing a violent take-down of 90 pound Rodney Moffat, a disabled, mentally challenged, 49 year-old man. Someone had reported Moffat might […]
Evolution of policing
It is interesting to consider the evolution of surveillance capabilities available to police. Within one person’s lifespan, authorities moved from no-tech to high-tech. In the 20th century’s first half, police depended on […]
An odd coincidence, or ?
From the Vancouver Province, March 23, 2010: Orion Hutchinson was impaired when he was killed in a collision with an allegedly impaired off-duty Mountie, a coroners report revealed yesterday. The 21-year-old motorcyclist […]
BCCLA Legal Observers
From a BC Civil Liberties Association website: The Olympics have an unfortunate history of being associated with government activities that repress dissenting voices and “undesirable” populations. In China, dissidents and potential protesters […]
Can we be too cynical ?
Gary Mason of The Globe and Mail adds his voice in New RCMP watchdog is toothless: Mr. McPhail’s new job as chair of the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP is […]
When in doubt, turn to a party hack – UPDATED
A few days ago, I accused the Harper Government of suffering fear and indecision that prevents them from addressing management difficulties of the federal police: Exactly no one outside of RCMP management […]
We have the answers, now for the questions
A news report about Yao Wei Wu: A 44-year-old man is recovering from numerous injuries in a case of mistaken identity by the Vancouver Police early Thursday morning, while they were investigating […]
Dissent unwelcome
After the RCMP were accused of intimidating anti-Olympic activists at a public meeting in Kelowna, BC Civil Liberties Association Executive Director David Eby said: In the history of the Olympics, have any […]
Sweeping review or sleeping review ?
Global TV reports: . . . The National Post published details Tuesday of a copy of a so-called “mandate letter” it obtained that had been given several weeks ago to Toews’ predecessor […]
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