May 22, 2015 – Vol
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May 22, 2015 – Vol. 20 No. 21 Critics call for ‘Rent a cop’ program changes May 15 2015 PRINCE GEORGE, B.C. - A cor- oner’s inquest into a deadly mill explosion in northern British Co- lumbia has suggested that the RCMP develop a policy for in- vestigating criminal negligence in the workplace as one of 33 recommendations aimed at pre- venting similar disasters. Page 3 May 15 2015 TORONTO - Toronto police launched a pilot project to test body-worn cameras for its offic- ers on Friday, joining a grow- ing number of forces trying out the technology, which has been greeted with a mix of optimism and caution. Page 4 May 17 2015 May 19 2015 But no one seems to know just when the eager to cut back the funds doled out each year practice first started, or where - not even for paid duty supervision of municipal projects. KEMNAY, Man. - A man ac- Mukherjee also worries about what he cused of wounding an RCMP those who reap millions of dollars every year from so-called “paid duty,’’ a program that calls the “reputational’’ cost. officer in a shooting prior to a “When people talk about police offic- standoff in western Manitoba allows companies and individuals to hire off- duty officers for various events. ers these days, it is interesting how fre- has been charged with two quently they talk about the police officer counts of attempted murder. “When we tried to pin down where these requirements came from, nobody could tell who is standing guard over a sewage drain doing nothing, slouching, holding a cup of Page 7 us,’’ says Alok Mukherjee, chair of the Toronto Police Services Board, which coffee,’’ he said. May 21 2015 oversees the force. Base salaries of police constables in Toronto range from $63,436 to $90,623, REGINA - After two months of un- From a thick binder labelled “Paid Duty,’’ he pulls a copy of a document from the force’s website shows. Meanwhile, successfully trying to meet with a paid-duty earnings amount to an average of group of concerned citizens, Re- 1957 - minutes from a police board meeting that references setting the rate for paid duty. $8,909 per officer, according to Ontario’s gina’s police chief felt the need to so-called sunshine list. write an open letter. As far back as the 1920s, Toronto’s then- police chief criticized paid duty, saying it Mukherjee wants to overhaul the pro- gram, including eliminating what he calls Page 9 would likely be rescinded. But today, the practice has become a “rent-a-cops,’’ where officers are hired for funding source for cash-strapped police forc- events that aren’t required by law to have es, and a lightning rod for criticism. a police presence, such as Maple Leafs and In cities that include Montreal, Waterloo, Blue Jays games. Ont., and Calgary, critics are raising concerns He also wants the city and the province that the system grants better protection to to change rules that mandate when an officer those with the means to pay for it, and ques- must be on scene, usually to guide traffic, on tioning whether officers can remain impartial larger roads that are under construction. towards those who offer lucrative contracts. “I’d rather see a combination of special In Toronto, where the program has been a constables, paid duty and private security,’’ political hot potato for decades, city officials are he said. In 2014, Toronto police officers made about the appearance of two-tier policing. more than $27 million for performing paid Guy Ryan, a former Montreal police duties, with the service raking in another $4 inspector, said he always had reservations THURSDAY million from a 15-per-cent “administration about the system, particularly with paid- MAY 14, 2015 fee’’ and another $1 million for equipment. duty assignments he considered too close More than 80 per cent of that cost is paid to security work. May 14 2015 for by private individuals or organizations, “I’d say: ‘Come on, there’s an ethical MONTREAL - A woman who posted which is why the head of the police union issue there for us as a public service,’ but a photo of graffiti depicting a senior said the debate is not about finances since it there were some who went around that be- Montreal police officer with a bullet in doesn’t affect the police budget. cause they said it was additional revenue,’’ his head has received a suspended “There’s no economic basis to attack he said. sentence. paid duties, so they’ve shifted to the reputa- The man overseeing Montreal’s paid Jennifer Pawluck was found guilty in tional impact, which, to me, holds no water at duty program - called “commercialization’’ - April of criminal harassment for snapping a all,’’ Mike McCormack said. said strict guidelines have been put in place photo of the street art and uploading it to In- “When we have officers who are down- in recent years to ensure the force’s integrity stagram in 2013. town or in the city to improve traffic flow, it isn’t compromised. The judge agreed with a joint suggestion actually increases our reputation.’’ Officers aren’t allowed to take on work that the 22-year-old Pawluck be given a sus- Mukherjee doesn’t think so. The police that amounts to acting as a security guard, or pended sentence, 18 months probation and board has the power to set guidelines on paid that could give the impression of a conflict 100 hours community service. duty, he said, but change will have to come of interest, said Didier Deramond, the force’s She is forbidden from using Instagram, from the incoming police chief, Mark Saunders. deputy chief. That includes watching over Facebook or Twitter for one year except to A recent report by the Association of bars or other businesses, he said. send private messages. Municipalities of Ontario recommended that Paid duty brought in roughly $4.4 mil- Pawluck is also prohibited from posting some of the specific functions of paid-duty lion last year, Deramond said. While it does anything about police or anyone associated officers should be transferred to civilians or count as revenue in the police budget, he said with the judicial system. other security providers. it isn’t a cash cow for the force. “We charge Montreal police Cmdr. Ian Lafreniere, a “This could include court security and them what it costs us - we’re not making any high-profile spokesman, told the court that prisoner transportation, data entry, accident gains with this,’’ he said. knowledge the graffiti was being shared reporting, burglary investigations (provid- A few years ago, ethical concerns shook him, scared his children and forced his ed the burglary is no longer in progress), prompted Waterloo’s then-police chief to wife to take a leave from work. and forensics, among other functions,’’ the step in after business owners in the city’s bar Pawluck had countered she posted the report states. area started hiring paid-duty police officers to image without knowing who Lafreniere was, In Montreal, the paid-duty system - estab- patrol on weekend nights. but the judge hearing the case cast doubt on lished in the mid-1990s - is seen by some as a Matt Torigian, now deputy minister of her version. way to bolster municipal coffers. At one point, Ontario’s Community Safety and Correction- She was charged under a summary of- there was a push to use the program to help al Services, told the Waterloo Record at the fence, meaning the maximum sentence was transform the force into a self-financing entity. time he believed policing should be shared six months in jail or a $5,000 fine. A report issued last year by Montreal’s equally instead of allowing one area to pay public safety commission urged the force to for “a higher level’’ of service. May 14 2015 look at ways to expand its paid-duty services In Calgary, police stopped offering paid- OTTAWA - A new, publicly accessible in order to generate more revenue. duty services to bars eight years ago after database looks at more than 50 years The current police chief, Marc Parent, community groups said they were worried of terrorist and extremist incidents made it clear when he took over five years the officers would act in favour of their pay- with a Canadian connection. ago that he planned to scale back the program ing clients rather than remain impartial in the The Canadian Incident Database is the after the city’s then-mayor raised concerns event of disputes. product of the Canadian Network for Re- There’s a different model in Vancouver. search on Terrorism, Security and Society, or Off-duty officers can still pick up paid shifts TSAS. to guard Vancouver Canucks hockey games The project began in December 2013, or other large events, but cops do not handle with money from Public Safety Canada and traffic at construction sites. Instead, civilians Defence Research and Development Canada. known as special constables are used to help It lists 1,815 such acts between 1960 and ISSN 1704-3913 guide traffic. 2014, with 410 of the incidents occurring Copyright 2015 The cost is significantly cheaper. abroad. Blue Line Magazine Inc. & The Canadian Press Permission to reprint may be obtained in advance from “It would be very rare to have a police It uses the Criminal Code definition of Access Copyright officer at a construction site - we have a terrorism to differentiate between terrorist Phone 1-800-893-5777 [email protected] traffic authority if we need someone other and extremist incidents.