Blue Line Magazine October 2011
Caber the Trauma K9
The brutal attack and murder of a popular teenager in a park last fall left the community of North Delta, BC reeling and in fear. In the days that followed 15 year old Laura Szendrei's death Caber, the victim services K9, was introduced to many in the community. At one gathering, a third of the 250 grief stricken citizens of all ages and cultures spontaneously broke into tears upon seeing him for the first time.
Caber circulated among the small groups in the gathering, held in the gymnasium of Szendrei's school, and was calming to everyone. His presence brought comfort and some peace.
When Paranoia meets Schizophrenia
Many pilots have died in their shot-up aircraft, an experienced airman once told me, because of their high comfort level in the cockpit. They preferred its familiarity over an unfamiliar parachute and would rather hold on in hopes of regaining control. They invariably paid with their lives.
Charter rights are personal
Alberta's top court has once again confirmed that Charter rights belong to an individual and cannot be vicariously argued.
In <R. v. Schmidt, 2011 ABCA 216> a drug-using tenant rented a one-room apartment in a building known to police for violence, drug trafficking and gang member activity. He asked a patrol officer for help to remove unwanted guests staying at and taking over his suite. The officer agreed to stop by, knock and make sure everything was okay. The first time he checked two unwanted guests were sleeping in the tenant's bed. They were ejected and banned from the building due to their gang affiliation and history of violence, drug use and trafficking. A sawed-off rifle was also removed from the residence.
The tenant told police he did not have the courage to tell unwanted guests to leave, fearing they would hurt him if he tried to eject them or bar them from entering. He was also afraid he would be harmed if word got out that he was cooperating with police or asking for their assistance. As a result of those concerns, a safe word was agreed upon for future conversations that would indicate the tenant felt safe to speak openly with police.
Flash Mobs - The Next Big Thing
We recently witnessed unsettling events across the UK but also here in Canada and the US – a troubling social phenomenon that includes using modern technology to assist in encouraging and enabling the rapid spread of riotous behaviour.
I have used the term "flash-mob violence" or "flash-mob civil disturbance" to describe the UK riots and what happened in Vancouver in June. It seems a version of this also occurred in Philadelphia over the summer. The North American incidents are not precisely the same as the UK situation but many of the "drivers" behind the behaviour were the same. I do not think these terms explain or necessarily define the phenomenon – however they do provide an apt, current name for it. It is a take-off from the term "flash-mob" – coined in 2003, it is the use of modern technology to mobilize people to a particular location or locations to participate in a pre-rehearsed activity. In these cases (to one extent or another) it has been used to encourage, instigate and mobilize riotous behaviour – vandalism, arson, break & enter, looting/theft, assault, etc.
Morden Police - Keeping Pace
When you are a police service in the town of Morden, Manitoba, population 7,700 (give or take a few) are you rural or urban? The answer is yes to both although there was a time when the Morden Police Service was purely a rural law enforcement agency. The years have seen incredible growth and with that growth comes all of the responsibility of an emerging urban area.
The force was officially founded 120 years ago in 1891 when James Atkin became the first appointed constable. Being a police officer in the region more than 100 hundred years ago still involved cross-training but the areas of expertise have changed significantly. A century ago a constable was also the local sanitation officer, and had such various and diverse duties as nailing down loose boards on the town sidewalks, measuring water levels in fire wells, enforcing the dog tax and inspecting buildings.