A Giant Leap for Progressive Policing in Ontario by R.D

OCTOBER 2009 2 BLUE LINE MAGAZINE October 2009 Volume 21 Number 8 This month Blue Line Magazine joins the Ontario Provincial Police in celebrating its 100th anniversary. We have featured the OPP and specific vignettes from its past over the last seven issues. This month we continue this focus with many features reflecting the past and present of this truly amazing organization. Starting on page 6. Features 6-19 Ontario Provincial Police 24 Breach of conditional release: Fact 100th anniversary celebration over fiction 20 A call to arms 30 Bringing justice to account The patch on the shoulder 36 Crisis Training 22 National DNA data bank website Departments Case Law 54 Back of the Book 50 Breath demand only requires reasonable belief 54 BlueLinks Ad Directory 35 Coming Events 51 Objectively justified officer belief okay 38 Continuing Education Directory 34 Deep Blue 21, 39 Dispatches 40 Forensic Science 44, 46 Letters 53 Market Place 52 Product News 5 Publisher’s Commentary 47 Representative Profiles 48 Technology BLUEBLUE LLINEINE MAGAZINEMAGAZINE 33 OOCTCTOOBERBER 20092009 OCTOBER 2009 4 BLUE LINE MAGAZINE Publisher’s Commentary by Morley Lymburner Tradition must be your servant Finding an Ontario while the latter does nothing but segregate, nadian police agency to not use the word on its Provincial Police isolate and enslave groups or individuals. Car- shoulders, its desire for uniqueness left its identity badge the Queen had ried to the extreme, a bad or poorly thought out open to the imagination of the beholder. Hence- authorized more than 10 tradition can be damaging and leave decades of forth the impact of that shoulder patch would be years ago – and then discovering the current senior embarrassment and tribulation. purposefully diminished by an act of... “tradition.” OPP administration knew nothing about it – came Military traditions, which go back thousands Policing traditions should primarily further as quite a shock to all concerned. of years, have proven to be double edged swords. an agency’s goals in how it relates to the public. The new badge was brought to my atten- Most are instituted to work with a command They must also advance the pride of the individu- tion through a series of coincidences. I patiently structure designed to train and move great als expected to work within it, reflecting a kin- awaited further information for several bewilder- numbers of individuals in predictable unison. ship with other agencies instead of antagonism ing months before a senior member, sounding Thoughtfully carried out, mostly to bond people as one army would relate to another. rather exasperated, called me. I bluntly asked toward a common cause, they become useful. A shoulder patch must clearly define for the about the implications of changing the force’s The damage occurs when tradition is imple- public the authority of the individual wearing shoulder patch and crest. A new design would mented as living legacies of thoughtlessness and it. Without a doubt the wearer of that uniform give it an internationally recognized symbol and a monument to individuals. Hazing or practices must be a known entity. If the agency name fails much better control over its use and reproduc- which have long outlasted their usefulness and them, then the universal word which bonds all tion. (Read more on page 20). support an out of touch management style come agencies together must be clearly seen without The officer challenged me to give him an to mind. Requiring RCMP members to wear equivocation or second thoughts. That person is argument for making a change. I addressed spurs while driving patrol cars, for example, or a POLICE officer and that is a tradition we can each impediment he raised until, with a sigh of refusing to arm RNC officers. all be proud of in this country. resignation, he asked “what about – tradition? The military background of new inductees I think the image the Queen granted the What can we say about tradition?” after the First World War brought a military style OPP is jaw-droppingly gorgeous and its recent Traditions do not come from some mysteri- to policing. The military has a need to introduce discovery should present an opportunity, not a ous cloud on a mountaintop, I replied. They come “traditions” to make their organization unique – problem. Adopting it would begin a new tradi- from the activities and machinations of mortals important when delineating nation from nation. tion with a deep pedigree, yet also be instantly and start when people decide they should. New The major difference in policing, however, is the “traditional” in a classic sense. To make up for traditions can be started just as past traditions enormous need for inter-agency co-operation lost time, mostly caused by some levels of man- were instituted. They can also be altered or and members to deal with citizens one-on-one. agement, the OPP should simply ask its members dispensed with once their usefulness has ended “Every officer is a four-star general” is the way whether the Queen’s approved badge should be or new realities dictate their demise. I often describe it. adopted in its present form. The word “tradition” is much used and Where did the current OPP shoulder patch Once placed in a position of respect and abused in police circles, appearing as the first (three gold letters surrounded by a gold triangle) clearly dignified by using the word “Police,” level of attack upon the status quo and targeted come from, I asked the senior officer. The short the Ontario Provincial Police will step into the with derision by agents of change. Supporters answer was 40 years ago a former commis- new millennium readily identified as a partner cite it as a quick dismissal; an escape clause for sioner felt it necessary for his force to stand out in serving and protecting Canadians. an issue or subject laced with potential problems as distinct from all other agencies in the world. To paraphrase the Latin phrase on the or pitfalls. Too often it is used as a tactic to delay The argument was that since citizens referred present badge, ‘they will become more illustrious or transfer responsibility. In other situations, to the agency as the “O-P-P,” members should through service.” traditions are rooted in good common sense and be proud of the acronym and use it at every op- help a well run organization. portunity. This was done so enthusiastically that It’s not easy to trace the roots and pitfalls of the letters replaced the one word which gave tradition. Its real purpose should be to advance officers their authority and common bond with an organization rather than the enduring legacy colleagues – “Police.” of an individual. The former bonds individuals Not only did the OPP become the only Ca- BLUE LINE MAGAZINE 5 OCTOBER 2009 Versatility meets form &function S/Sgt. Brad Fishleigh Officers patrol a beat which includes three Technology was as sparse as space in the First Nations territories and three extended overcrowded detachment, S/Sgt. Brad Fish- rural municipalities. The varied population leigh explained. The street crime unit, drug of 16,000 is spread over a rocky peninsula investigator and property crimes unit shared stretching 100 kilometres into Lake Huron, one computer and one small office, which was providing some 800 kms. of coastline. Tourists also used as the breathalyzer, interview, finger- and cottagers swell the population to more than print and file storage room! The washrooms 80,000 people over the summer months. The doubled as change rooms. The lunch room was The OPP focuses on main road leading north through the middle also the guard station and the training room of the peninsula carries more than 300,000 and prisoner booking area was in the middle bricks and mortar people and 90,000 vehicles annually to the of the administration area. Tobermory ferry docks. There was no locker room. Members by Morley Lymburner Officers and residents alike were relieved stacked their hats, in towers reaching to the to finally see a new building after close to half ceiling, on top of a few metal storage lockers A long overdue Ontario Provincial Police a century of overcrowding. The long wait in the main work area. Officers going out on detachment building opened in July for the highlights an embarrassing lack of foresight patrol would usually simply grab the closest officers who patrol Ontario’s Bruce Peninsula. by previous administrations. hat that fit. The new state-of-the-art facility brings their Originally designed to house only nine Fishleigh reported that the new 11,000 working environs into the new millennium officers in 1960, the former Wiarton Detach- square foot office not only provides ample with a single 50 year leap. ment building ended up with a compliment space for today but has room to grow. “It is The buildings and structures which support of almost 40 members shoehorned into 2,000 equipped with modern technology and all the officers and staff are an integral part of the polic- square feet almost 49 years later. tools and equipment that our officers and staff ing experience. The new Wiarton-based build- “There were days we actually envied the need to provide the service our communities ing plays a strategic policing function in a very prisoners in their cells for both their space have come to expect and deserve,” he proudly unique part of Ontario. The detachment is the and privacy,” claimed one officer. “Just using stated. main hub station for three satellite detachments the washroom at times had to be strategically “We are truly blessed in many ways,” he (Tobermory, Lion’s Head and Sauble Beach).

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