December 26, 2014 – Vol

December 26, 2014 – Vol. 19 No. 52 National security demands leave RCMP areas understaffed Dec 18 2014 VICTORIA - British Columbia needs to appoint a crime-fighting boss who can cut through provincial, municipal and social bureaucracies to build unified crime- prevention teams, say government reports released Thursday. Page 2 Dec 18 2014 TORONTO - Toronto police are trying to capitalize on the mete- oric popularity of the world’s most downloaded podcast, Serial. Page 3 Dec 19 2014 OTTAWA - Under pressure to pre- vent future attacks on Parliament Hill after the Oct. 22 assault by a gunman, the Mounties are bringing in rookie officers to boost security. Dec 22 2014 Page 5 The RCMP is seeking more money to Mounties working on issues such as organized crime, drugs and corruption have Dec 21 2014 replace the dozens of Mounties who have dropped their regular duties to fo- been transferred to investigations into dozens NEW YORK - The gunman who fa- cus on new threats posed by Canadian of cases of Canadians who have returned to tally ambushed two police officers foreign fighters, federal sources said. Canada after travelling in places like Iraq and in their squad car had a long crimi- The move comes as Ottawa prepares to Syria, sources said. nal record, a hatred for police and introduce legislation early in the new year Sources added the attack by Michael the government, and an apparent making it easier to track and arrest Islamic Zehaf-Bibeau on the War Memorial and history of mental instability that in- State supporters and other militants. Parliament in Ottawa on Oct. 22 further included an attempt to hang himself A spokesman for the RCMP confirmed creased the shift in policing efforts, exacer- a year ago, authorities said Sunday. that some traditional areas of policing have bating holes in other areas of the national Page 7 been affected by the renewed threats to na- police force. tional security posed by travellers to conflict “The RCMP has reallocated resources to Dec 22 2014 zones, sympathizers or jihadis. national security to address this key priority,” TORONTO - In the wake of the fatal shooting of two New York police officers over the weekend, the presi- dent of the Toronto Police union is calling for an end to online “anti- police rhetoric” that has reached a “fever pitch.” Page 8 Sergeant Greg Cox said. “Employees from public safety committee of the House, in a criminal negligence causing death and two different parts of the country were trans- joint appearance with Mr. Blaney and CSIS counts of dangerous driving causing death. ferred to high-risk traveller files from other director Michel Coulombe. Pauline Volikakis, the wife and mother of federal policing areas, such as organized “We have 63 active national-security inves- the victims, welcomed the sentence. crime, to the five INSETs [Integrated Na- tigations on 90 individuals who are related to “I’m just happy that.. .we can now move tional Security Enforcement Teams] located the travelling group, people who intend to go on, maybe turn the page and continue with a across the country.” [to countries like Iraq and Syria] or people who positive attitude, instead of a negative (one),’’ Sgt. Cox did not confirm the RCMP’s have returned,” Commissioner Paulson said. she said outside the courtroom. request for increased funding, but added that The federal government went on to intro- Volikakis said the judge “did what she Commissioner Bob Paulson regularly meets duce Bill C-44, a counterterrorism law aimed had to do.’’ with Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney. at boosting powers of the Canadian Security In passing sentence, Quebec Superior “They discuss a variety of issues, includ- Intelligence Service. The bill has been on a fast Court Justice Eliane Perreault noted that ing the force’s budget, programs and overall track through Parliament since its tabling af- Czornobaj, now 26, showed no remorse dur- direction,” the RCMP spokesman said. ter the Oct. 22 shooting, which came two days ing the trial and had described the tragedy as Sgt. Cox refused to state how many of- after Martin Couture-Rouleau rammed into an accident. ficers have been reassigned, saying that the two Canadian Forces members in St-Jean-sur- Perreault said the accused showed a “reck- “number of employees fluctuates on a regu- Richelieu, killing one. less disregard for the safety of others’’ when lar basis.” Mr. Blaney has said another bill with ex- she left her vehicle to tend to the ducklings. In an appearance in front of the public panded law-enforcement powers for surveil- safety committee of the House earlier this lance, detention and arrest in counterterror- Dec 18 2014 month, Mr. Blaney said he was “looking ism cases is due for release in the near future. VICTORIA - British Columbia needs to forward to coming back to this committee (Globe and Mail) appoint a crime-fighting boss who can to seek support for additional funding to in- cut through provincial, municipal and crease our safety and for the evolving threat social bureaucracies to build unified of terrorism.” THURSDAY crime-prevention teams, say govern- A government official, speaking on con- DECEMBER 18, 2014 ment reports released Thursday. dition of anonymity, said on Sunday that the Two reports by Liberal MLAs Darryl Ple- “door is open” to additional funding to secu- cas and Laurie Throness focus on preventing rity agencies such as the RCMP and the Ca- Dec 18 2014 crime in communities and keeping inmates nadian Security Intelligence Service. KAMLOOPS, B.C. - Two new charges from returning to jail. “We are working to give additional tools have been laid against a man accused The Plecas report makes six recommen- to security agencies,” the official said. “All of shooting a Mountie in Kamloops, dations, stating that the clearest message from agencies and departments want more money B.C., during a traffic stop. 14 roundtable meetings and input from 600 … but some demands make more sense.” When 36-year-old Kenneth Knutson ap- people calls for improved collaboration and Still, the official said the effects of the new peared in court for a bail hearing on Thursday co-ordination on crime prevention programs legislation will need to be analyzed before he learned he now faces six charges. across B.C. looking at the request for additional funding. The new counts are for aggravated as- “While many presenters were proud of the “The measures will be designed to allow sault and possession of a firearm contrary results they saw in their communities, there the security agencies to make arrests more to order in the Dec. 3 shooting of Cpl. Jean was frequent mention of disjointed approach- quickly,” the official said. “This could poten- Michaud, who is still in hospital recovering es, fragmented interventions, and the propen- tially help to clear a number of these national- from critical injuries. sity of many professionals to work in ‘silos’ security cases more quickly.” Crown spokesman Neil MacKenzie says isolated from each other,’’ the report said. In October, Commissioner Paulson laid Knutson was initially charged with a variety “There is clearly a need for a province- out the extent of the work being conducted of offences related to the alleged use of a fire- wide interagency collaboration model that by the Mounties during an appearance at the arm along with an attempted-murder charge. supports the development of local partner- MacKenzie says the added allegations are ships. Provincial and municipal governments that a restricted or prohibited firearm was used, should actively work to break down bureau- and the aggravating factor can involve an in- cratic silos.’’ crease in mandatory minimum sentences. Plecas urged the government to appoint Knutson’s bail hearing has now been “a senior crime reduction leader to improve ISSN 1704-3913 scheduled for Jan. 15 because he does not yet interagency collaboration across the wide Copyright 2014 have a lawyer. range of crime reduction activities in B.C.’’ Blue Line Magazine Inc. & The Canadian Press (CHNL) A Justice Ministry statement said the Permission to reprint may be obtained in advance from government will consider a pilot project to Access Copyright Dec 18 2014 Phone 1-800-893-5777 [email protected] test that recommendation. MONTREAL - A widow whose husband Justice Minister Suzanne Anton said in a Published weekly by Blue Line Magazine, Inc. as an executive and daughter died when their motor- statement that the government is already follow- news briefing service to Canada’s top level law enforcement personnel. cycle crashed into a woman’s car as ing through on many of the recommendations. Most information supplied in this publication is from news- she helped ducks on a highway is sat- Plecas, who is a criminologist, was ap- wire services. As such Blue Line Magazine does not ac- isfied with the 90-day jail term the ac- cept responsibility for the accuracy of articles as supplied. pointed in September 2013 to convene a cused received Thursday. panel of experts to find ways to drive down All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, Besides serving the time on weekends, B.C.’s crime rate. stored in an electronic database or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, photocopying, recording or otherwise, with- Emma Czornobaj must do 240 hours of com- He recommended more focus on reduc- out the prior permission of the publishers. One Year Subscriptions munity service and is prohibited from driving ing crime by repeat offenders, expanding are $10500 (GST Included). Paid subscribers may make up to four for 10 years. 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