Blue Line Magazine December 2011
Shotgun Training
Every police officer in Canada should have a good double-action-only pistol on their hip, a loaded shotgun in an overhead rack and fast access to an accurate patrol carbine. There is no room for failure, and out there on the street there is no such thing as a fair fight.
When human life is at stake, officers need the best gun they can bring with them, the proper training to use it safely and effectively, and enough power to stop the threat quickly and efficiently.
Within its design distance, the shotgun is one of the most versatile and powerful weapons one can bring to bear in a defensive situation. With one pull of the trigger, it can put the energy equivalent to half a magazine of 5.56mm rounds into a threat. At typical police shooting distances, that impact can stop threats quicker and safer than almost any handgun or rifle on the market.
Filling the gap
In recent years numerous Canadian police agencies have bought significant numbers of police carbines. Many more have ongoing or planned patrol carbine programs, needed to counter an increased threat to police and to quickly respond to terrorist and active shooter situations.
Unfortunately the debate about how to best equip officers is all too often characterized by emotional arguments, outdated perceptions and, occasionally, myths. Many observers tend to frame the discussion by insisting one weapon is better than another, and this too is a mistake. With a little investigation it becomes evident that pistols, shotguns and carbines have complimentary characteristics. Police services often overlook the very good technical information available to them.
Tip and surveillance justifies arrest
The Supreme Court of Canada has rejected an appeal challenging an arrest based on an informer's tip followed by police surveillance.
In R. v. Whyte, 2011 SCC 49, a CBSA officer assigned to the integrated weapons trafficking investigations team received a tip. A previously reliable informant told him a black male, possibly named "Jay," was coming to Windsor from the Toronto area for a transaction related to firearms and drugs. "Jay" would possibly be with someone else and the informer provided the address of an apartment building where the transaction was going to imminently take place.
The tip was passed on to a Windsor police officer assigned to the Provincial Weapons Enforcement Unit. In the officer's experience, Windsor was a place where people came to purchase inexpensive firearms because of its proximity to Detroit. In the officer's view, Windsor had become a nucleus for illegal trafficking in firearms. Since drugs such as cocaine were cheaper in the Toronto area, there was a trade in firearms and drugs between the two cities.
Politics trumps responsible gun ownership
The Conservative government has kept another long awaited promise. Emboldened by a shiny new majority with no effective opposition, it decided now was the time to kill the much vaunted and hated long gun registry.