Behind the Yellow Tape

I Spy….

Posted on August 18, 2026 by Pete Cross

Photographer in a beanie holding a camera and carrying a case in a cobblestone alley

There are two agencies in Canada which go largely ignored, but fall under the various branches of enforcement. This is mainly due to the fact that both agencies, the Canadian Security and Intelligence Service (CSIS) and the Communication Security Establishment (CSE) live and exist under a veil of secrecy. This is not by choice, their very mandate is to stay hidden, out of sight of the “enemy” and therefore equally out of sight of any prying Canadians who might be interested in seeing or measuring their value and effectiveness.

Both of these agencies are research and intelligence based organizations, so it is somewhat misleading to put them in the category of “investigative” units like the RCMP, or some other operational policing unit. They are less hands on and often dependent on other agencies to carry on the investigation when their gleaned intelligence traverses over into the criminal element. Also, one needs to remember that these are strictly “political” agencies, the enemies or their targets of their investigations are purely determined by the political powers of the day. So targeting can sometimes be confusing. Case history shows us that one person’s defined terrorist has the possibility of being tomorrow’s favoured politician. The examples are many; Yasser Arafat and the PLO, Sinn Fein and the IRA are a couple which come to mind, both leading terrorist organizations whose leaders then became favoured politicians. In Canada, think of the truck convoy protesters in Ottawa honking their horns and the Liberals then requesting that all Federal resources be joined into an investigation of them, including CSIS.

This is just to point out that when investigational mandates intertwine with elected politicians, even those that believe in the necessity of an organization such as CSIS, it is also agreed, that the line between legitimate targeting and Orwellian nightmares is a fine one. Therefore in the case of agencies such as CSIS, in order to maintain democratic freedoms, substantial oversight is needed to be put in place. This need coupled with the current level of claimed security and investigational privacy, in the CSIS case, the public is kept distant from any investigative results and instead we must rely on government committees and the like to oversee their investigations. The dilemma in other words is that the government that decides the targeting also oversees the agency doing the targeting.

In this post blog we are looking at CSIS, whose mandate is about as broad based and as open to interpretation as any existing in government. Section 12 (1) of the Act states that the mandate is to reduce “threats to the security of Canada” and tells them that they “may take measures, within or outside of Canada, to reduce the threat”. Of course there is an obvious problem when the language is so generalized as to be useless. What constitutes a “threat” and what are the “measures” that are available? The authors of the Act do try and define it further without much success by saying “the measures should be proportional in the circumstances, having regard to the nature of the threat”. No kidding. Furthermore, the Act says that before any undertaking they are counselled to “consult, as appropriate, with other Federal departments, or other agencies as to whether they are in a position to reduce the threat”. A second rather obvious directive.

Besides the gathering of “intelligence”, a very large part of the CSIS mandate is the conducting of security screenings of individuals entering Canada, or wanting to enter Canada, as well as the screening of persons under any of the current government programs. CSIS says that in 2025 they conducted 129,000 government related security screenings and over 438,600 immigration and citizenship referrals. There is no easy public measure of how effective those screenings are or how in depth and there have recently been a couple of stories which would indicate that the screenings are not foolproof, but it is very difficult to measure when looking from the outside in.

In terms of full disclosure, I was in the RCMP Security Service, the precursor for CSIS from about 1981 to 1984. Although asked to go to the new agency, I chose to return to criminal work. CSIS decided to go ahead without me and officially began in 1984; so it now haves a 40 year history, and has gone on with little or no outside mention or attention by the average member of the general public. Clearly it is easier to avoid controversy if one is allowed to never speak.

Despite this general need and application of secrecy, there have been two reports which recently came into public, or at least my view. One was by the Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology which examined the current plight of workers within CSIS. This was after receiving complaints from within the agency, who according to the complainants, were working in an environment “laden with stigma”. So in 2024 the study conducted interviews of 38 employees ranging in age from 31 to 64 years old. Of those interviewed 48% were female and 52% male. This is actually a statistically very small sample, as there are currently 3,367 employees in CSIS.

As an aside, for the record, those employees make up $493 million in salaries and have an additional $320 million in operating expenses. The CSIS overall budget therefore totals $813 million. The salary range for a CSIS intelligence officer is from $87,000 to $120,000. The head of the unit is Daniel Roger who has a salary of somewhere between $230,000 and $270,00 and sits at the executive level of a Deputy Minister.

So this is not a small agency but it is not a large agency either. As a comparison the RCMP have about 6,000 employees in British Columbia alone. The Journal study and the lead researcher, Rosemary Ricciardelli, from her inquiries discovered that the biggest problem for morale in the Service was the fact that the employees were “getting no recognition for what they do”. That they work in a field which is “exposed to potentially, physically or socially traumatic events”. As a result fewer than half of the employees interviewed “recommended working there.”

The first part of the finding leaves me a little apoplectic. Apparently we are led to believe that employees who joined and signed on to be part of a “spy ” agency didn’t think that their required duties and assignments needed to be kept secret? Do they feel neglected in not being able to take selfies at their work places or put video on Instagram showing “a day in the life of a spy”. Mind boggling.

As to the second part of being exposed to traumatic events, once again, what did they think the job involved? I would agree however that exposure to the day to day violence around the world would be at times heart breaking and possibly lead to depression and anxiety. And I would also agree that some sort of psychological counselling around this issue should be a permanent part of the protocol inside the agency. However those that are still unable to cope should be gently removed and asked to find other work as the work will always involve and be subject to a war torn and violently abusive world. With the war in Iraq, in Ukraine, Hamas, and those of similar ilk around the world, there is always present need to be vigilant and the work needs to be done. This organization needs to be populated with people who can handle it. Like police work, this is not soft and cuddly work.

The second report which caught my attention was the 2025 CSIS Public Report where CSIS themselves outlined their successes for the year. It is not over revealing as the language is in very broad generalities and their limited descriptions make it difficult to discover the level of direct involvement or investigation that was undertaken by CSIS themselves. For instance in the summary portion of this report, they maintain that they conducted 100 warrants, 15 court orders, 7 assistance orders and 1 production order. These numbers are not overwhelming by any investigative measure, one mid-sized RCMP detachment would conduct that many legal undertakings in a couple of months.

In the report the authors point to a few cases with which they were involved. They point to a 19 year old male in Winnipeg who was described as displaying “nihilistic violent extremism” and the case led to terrorism related charges. It would seem that the case originated with the National Security Enforcement Section who it can be safely assumed would have got some level of intelligence from CSIS, and then the Winnipeg Police Service became involved. Hard to measure the overall input of CSIS.

Then there is the Montreal teenager who it is alleged was preparing for some style of terrorist attack, and had been posting on social media “threatening comments” and was also trying to obtain a firearm. Forty officers were involved in his arrest but the case has not made it to court yet. Then there was the woman in Montreal, accused of being a member of ISIS. Oumaima Chouay apparently left the country 10 years ago to become a member of ISIS. She was given a one day sentence, in addition to the 110 days she served in pre-trial custody.

Needless to say, the above cases are not exactly earth shattering, but there were a few other cases that CSIS clearly likes to show their effectiveness, one of which was termed operation “Hide and Stalk”.

In this case CSIS tipped the RCMP in early 2023 to a group of Canadian military individuals who were operating under the code name “Hide and Stalk”. This group was formed advocating for an anti-government militia and tactical training group and was being led by an Armed Forces Master Corporal. The tip went to the RCMP who undertook surveillance, undercover operations, and uncovered a plot to seize some property in Quebec. After an extensive investigation four individuals were arrested and charged with “facilitating a terrorist activity”, “conspiracy to forcibly seize property” and a variety of weapons offences. The Redditt forums are split on the act of it actually being an act of terrorism, that it leaned more to the survivalist mentality, but the courts will be the ultimate decider.

There were a few other stand alone investigations. In March 2026, Mathew Althorpe of Toronto, who was a member of the Telegram collective, was sentenced to 20 years for producing videos, images, publications and posts on the social messaging app Telegram, which encouraged hate against minorities, and prosecutors said was done in aid of the terrorist network the Atomwaffen Division of the Telegram collective. There was also the “dark foreigner”, the handle for Patrick Gordon McDonald who was sentenced to 10 years in 2025 for also posting and extolling videos of racist attacks on Jewish people and he too was once associated to the Atomwaffen Division which is now defunct. Or the Hydro Quebec employee who was found to be committing “economic espionage”

In reading these cases, the actual level of involvement of the CSIS agency could range from a single piece of information learned to extensive legal applications and various levels of intel. So the ability to measure the effectiveness in any of these cases cannot be seen, in fact may never be known.

The CSIS report states that since 2014 there have been 20 terrorist attacks which have resulted in 29 deaths and 60 injured. They grandiosely state it would have been “higher without their work”.

In terms of oversight. CSIS reports to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Gary Anandasangaree, who is to give them “strategic direction and policy guidance”. This Minister has a human rights legal background and there is very mixed feelings about his overall effectiveness as a Minister. Then there is the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency (NSIRA) who are there to insure “legality and propriety”. There is in addition the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP) made up of MP’s and Senators. This latter group are described as there to act as an “independent, quasi judicial oversight body” and are in fact led by a retired Superior court judge. Their stated job is to have up front oversight by “reviewing and approving”. One does get the impression that a speedy decision in times of a national threat may be out of the question with the levels of bureaucracy that are currently in place, but nevertheless they are there. You just don’t get to see what they are dealing with or any decisions coming out of these bodies of government. I didn’t mention that there is also the Integrated Threat Assessment Center (ITAC), and there is also a group that measures the “Threat to Public Officials” and a group that is there to assess the “National Terrorism Threat Levels.”

In case you are interested this last group says that we are now at “Medium” threat level; which means that there is a “realistic possibility” of a terrorist threat. Feel better, because I am not so sure we have determined whether CSIS is a viable or effective organization? All we really know is that some people inside the organization don’t think you should apply for a job.

“Trauma Informed”

Posted on July 29, 2026 by Pete Cross

Police officer speaking at podium during a press conference with reporters and photographers

The Canadian media is continuously searching for the latest “victims” and they are not very discernible; the victims of weather, the victims of discrimination are a particular favourite, and/or any victims of the various forms of larceny. Eventually, as a viewer, it wears one down and we become convinced that the only role for us in our greater society is the one of the victim. The CBC is the worst, but the other media outlets are just as blameworthy. They are all analogous to the persons driving by a car accident, slowing to what they can see or take a video of. They are partial to a wildfire, or a flood, where victims are in abundance and seemingly not as put off by the mike being thrust in front of them and will take the time and describe in great detail the fire cresting the hill or the river spilling its banks. The messages of remorse and consternation are lapped up like a dog at its water bowl. If one takes any interest in the news you cannot avoid being pulled in to this swirling trauma. And it was a recent reading of a particular news item which led me to the discovery of what appears to be the latest buzz phrase being taught in the media relations departments of policing circles — it was the phrase “trauma informed investigation”.

I assume like many readers I asked myself, what in fact is a “trauma informed investigation”? After all, isn’t every investigation usually circling around the central issue of a traumatic event? This latest buzzy attempt by the pseudo intellectuals of police leadership originated as a news story about several women who had been “victimized” by a 60 year old alleged sex offender by the name of Stephen Lowe of Maitland Nova Scotia. Mr. Lowe is now accused of taking photographs of women and then using AI to alter them to create depictions of these same women naked or in various inappropriate poses; or in some cases in scenes of violence. These were actual pictures of women that he seemed to know, and there is allegedly now a total of fifty victims all from the areas of Nova Scotia, Ontario and Nunavut. A second man, Gregory Peter Van Beek of Nipissing Ontario has also been charged but it is yet unclear what his actual role in these crimes were or his relationship to Mr. Lowe.

The 79 charges against Lowe include: harassment, uttering threats, possessing and publishing obscene material, and child sexual abuse and exploitation material. The multi-jurisdiction investigation was led by the Ottawa Police Service and it is a different type of crime to be sure. The Ottawa police defined these fifty nine women as victims of “technology facilitated sexual violence”. However, it was at this point where the Ottawa city police public relations department in an effort to be in touch with the new 21st century victim went a little too far. The Ottawa police service in extolling the virtues of their investigation and the hard work they put in issued a statement saying that “the investigators launched a thorough, trauma informed and victim-centred investigation”. Again, you will be excused for thinking that most if not all investigations are “victim-centred”, after all you can’t have a complaint or start an investigation without some form of a victim.

Clearly, because most readers would be confused by the word salad and its terminology, the author of the article went on to ask the police to describe what they mean by “trauma informed”. By way of a further explanation the police spokesperson was quoted as saying that “consideration has been made to ensure victims feel secure, feel safe, feel supported”. Was the implication that this was not the case in other investigations? It didn’t end there. The women at the root of the story took exception to the Ottawa Police narrative and are apparently now complaining that they felt that there should have been greater “crisis intervention, safety planning, emotional support and referrals to community services”. They also state that there was not “enough communication from the Victim Witness Assistance program”. One woman described her personal trauma and the Ottawa police “breathtaking failure” in not fearing for “her safety” even though, it should be pointed out, Lowe was in custody at the time of her complaint.

Clearly there are a great many more details to come from this story. Equally clear was that the Ottawa Police spokesperson was clearly trying to be at the cutting edge of woke terminology so I don’t feel sorry for them and clearly they under estimated the level of the fringe woke in this country. So of course they made matters worse by trying to respond to the subsequent outcry by the “victims”. The Ottawa police spokesperson Inspector Pascal Labine was again asked to describe what they meant by “trauma informed” when these women were now alleging that they didn’t agree. Labine said that it meant that “officers keep victims informed of every step, ensure that they don’t have to repeat their story multiple times, and allow them to disclose information at their own pace”.

Having worked in a Sex Crimes unit and in a homicide unit over a number of years, speaking to victims and telling them next steps in terms of court proceedings is a matter of routine. It is not a secret as to what happens following these kinds of allegations and you have to prepare them for any future testimony. Furthermore, you can’t force a victim to tell their story, it must come from them on their own time, that is just common sense. It is also routine procedure that the victims are not subjected to multiple interviews from a variety of sources to avoid re-living the trauma. There is also the danger of too many statements from the victim where some of the details may differ which in turn could be problematic in court. I suspect that this was all done in the Ottawa based investigation as a matter of routine, and I suspect the media release was merely trying to sound more politically astute and add a level of self-importance to what seems like a pretty straightforward file in terms of the gathering of the evidence.

In this case the victims were in fact given access to victim services, and all the other assorted community services— what this complaint is about is that they apparently didn’t get enough of those services. What is enough in a crime of this type, especially one where the emphasis will be on emotional and psychological impacts? The Ottawa Police say that “throughout the investigation” (investigators) prioritized “victim safety and support.” So there you have it, damn if you do and damned if you don’t. This particular complaint in Ottawa is of course blatantly ridiculous so hopefully it will not be given any further credence in the media.

Victims in rape and sexual assault investigations have been fighting a battle for many years about their often crude and unenlightened treatment, both by the police, but also in the courts. There has been great progress over the years based on the better understanding of these types of crimes. In this particular case, however, these women are probably hurting the cause more than helping it.

My advice to all police spokespersons, which they are free to ignore is to quit blowing hot air, quit playing to the buzz, simply state the charges, the nature of the charges and that the matter is before the courts. Quit playing to the victim nuance. You can describe the parameter of the investigation and the resulting action, just like any investigation, and leave it at that. Unfortunately, the current mind set of police chiefs and their senior executives is to always want to be out front when an investigation is deemed to be a success and where there are political points to score. Conversely, there is no news conference if an investigation ends badly, or they hide behind the statement that they have no comment because the matter is before the courts. In drug and gang investigations how many times are we to be shown the staged tables of seized weapons and the mountains of packaged drugs and always standing behind them are the ten police executives who really had no part in the investigation other than signing the overtime cheques and authorizing the investigation to be resourced. Recently in Ontario the OPP had such a press conference on a year long file at the border, named Project Bay, involving multiple agencies, where $139 million in various drugs were seized and twenty-two individuals charged. A success by any measure and clearly there was some good investigative work done.

However, recognition of a job well done is not enough for police leadership. In this case, stacks of seized drugs were piled on top of tables, firearms laid out, in particular an anti-tank gun was displayed significantly and in the speeches all referred to the menacing gun positioned at the front of the display. There were several senior officers representing the 14 police agencies that were involved, like Windsor Police Chief Jason Crowley, who dramatically reflected on how “I truly do lose sleep over stuff like this for our community and other communities”. The other themes were the usual things such as “working together effectively” and “enhancing public safety”. I think the public knows the routine now. These staged media events have become the equivalent of a police rally. The media are demanding a photo op, just like the tank gun was purposely put out to garner that ah hah pictorial moment, so the police executives take full advantage.

Commissioner Duheme recently travelled to Los Angelas to stand before the media cameras, with other U.S. agency leaders, to take credit for the RCMP role in the investigation on the south asian gangs operating in the U.S. and Canada and in particular the Bishnoi gang based in India. The Commissioner gave a rather long rendition as to the power of investigative cooperation, “information sharing”, “intelligence sharing”, and describing being “embedded” with the FBI. It was a case that clearly was headed and under the direction of the Americans and based on the international investigative efforts of the Americans. All the charges were unsealed in California, and for Canada’s part they only intend to use “expedited deportation orders” to send those arrested on behalf of the Americans back to the States to stand trial. Four arrests of the twenty or so, were made in Canada but no charges were laid in Canada.

However Duheme wanted and needed to get some favourable publicity considering all the negativity being directed to the south asian extortions in B.C and Ontario which have been commanding headlines across Canada. Clearly, it was worth a flight from Ottawa to Los Angelas to him and the organization. Even if the Americans clearly did the majority of the evidence gathering, albeit armed with their better racketeering laws, a decision was made that one could not waste the RCMP moment to shine on the “cooperation” it had extended to the California district attorney.

This always wanting to take a bow, for doing their job, just seems a little unseemly. Maybe I am wrong, maybe my discomfort is the result of an old school philosophy where we historically went to great effort to stay behind the scenes, to avoid the cameras. But his is clearly the new selfie generation of police leadership, humility is no longer part of the lexicon, image and spin is of much greater importance. As Marshall McLuhan wrote about the medium being more important than the message and that the tool or format used to share information shapes our thoughts more than the actual facts inside. Style over truth, speed over depth, style over substance. Police in society historically have been perceived as the strength, the unbendable seekers of truth and justice, the foundational blocks of a democratic society unfettered by bias or political influence. This new bending to a fickle social media or aiming for a jarring headline in the long run may not in fact be the ideal medium for a positive policing message.

Retiring to the Country?

Posted on July 13, 2026 by Pete Cross

Winding dirt road leading to village with fields, sheep, and hills under a cloudy sky at sunset

Many police officers, when finding their time to let their mind wander, or working at FIFA, begin to contemplate the trajectory of their lives and that eventual retirement. That blissful time where you picture a comfortable chair on a well worn and comfortable porch. And when that day comes and you will be facing the decision as to where to go to find that nirvana. Some will do the easiest thing and just remain in the same place you have lived for the last number of years, usually in one suburb or another, a house paid off, the children out of the nest. Some will follow the grand children, to be near and helpful. Many others will pursue a home in the country, out of the evil and dastardly city or suburb where crime runs rampant, to a place where your neighbour is some distance away, where you can hide in peace and solemnity, away from the clearly crumbling culture.

Retirees also follow trends, so in British Columbia you will hear place names like Salmon Arm, Courtney, Campbell River, and Gibsons. All places where my fellow geriatrics can often be found sitting around the local Tim Hortons, usually at some ungodly early hour, ball caps pushed back on their wisdom filled heads and dispensing early with the talk of the weather and Trump. They joke about the spouse, because the spouse is not there, however they get serious with discussion of the latest news and pictures coming out of the cities showing homeless encampments, drug destroyed humans, and the horrific traffic. How can anybody live there they ask, shaking their heads in disbelief at the possibility.

However, if you are thinking about life in the hinterland, away from the throngs, on that hobby farm or house in the middle of nowhere, you need to check out the latest crime figures coming out of Statistics Canada. The latest stats reach a central conclusion: crime rates are lower in the cities than in rural areas. To be clear, they define “rural” areas as towns and villages of less than a 1,000 person population, or living on agricultural lands and or un-developed lands. All those places where you have to “drive into town” to get the double-double coffee.

Some of the figures are startling. Keep in mind that only 14% of the population lives in defined “rural areas”. However those areas represent 22% of the violent crimes, 17% of the property crimes, 27% of the criminal code traffic offences, and 23% of “other” “Criminal Code offences. On the Crime Severity Index, rural areas are 50% higher than the cities and 45% higher in terms of “violent” crime. Impaired driving is 3 x higher in the rural areas. When you do down the various crimes list, robbery is the only statistic where the cities rank higher than the rural areas.

If you want to lessen the chance of being murdered, don’t move to a rural area, because the rate of homicide there is 70% higher–2.92 per 100,000 whereas it is 1.72 per 100,000 in the cities. Over a 10 year period from 2014 to 2024, women were more likely to be killed in rural areas where the homicide rate increased by 68% compared to 29% in the cities. This was equally true of those crimes defined as “intimate partner” violence.

As one checks the map of the areas most affected by crime, one fact also becomes clear, the more north one goes the higher the crime rate, the rate being 24% higher in northern rural areas. And, if you are thinking of moving to the Prairies; Saskatchewan, Alberta and Manitoba have the highest rural crime rates. Saskatchewan was the highest followed by Manitoba, then Alberta. (Manitoba also had the highest urban crime rate). If you do want to live in a rural area, Prince Edward Island, Ontario and Quebec are the only Provinces where the rural crime rates are actually lower than the cities.

Why are the Prairies the least desirable and why do the statistics reverse in Ontario, Quebec and Prince Edward Island. Most police officers know the answer when asked, but it is impolite answer, an answer which by mere mention will result in your having to defend yourself from charges of racism. But stats don’t lie and Statistics Canada does measure and point to the difference. In short, it is the Indigenous effect. It states that in 95% of areas where police are servicing predominantly indigenous populations the Provincial crime rates are above the national average. In another statistic, in some Prairie Provinces, 85% of the inmates are Indigenous. In overall general police reporting, the total number of crimes are 6 times higher in the Indigenous communities.

For the police, it is well known that the most dangerous places to police are the rural areas, not in the cities where back up and extensive other police resources can be found. Of course that is often where the RCMP in particular run annual manpower shortages, where currently, Manitoba and Saskatchewan are operating with 17.5% vacancy rates, while in Nunavut and the North west Territories, the vacancy rate is about 20%. So not only are the rural areas less safe, there is also the fact that the police are in a worse position to often respond.

Of course I am being somewhat facetious here. Do I think the downtown east side of Vancouver is safer than rural Manitoba? Not really. Statistics don’t lie, but they can be distorted. When it comes to crime stats, the reason is simple and criminologists refer to it as the “dark figure of crime”. It is the un-reporting of crime. This is true of both cities and rural areas, but I do suspect things such as “property” crime in particular go vastly unreported in the cities. (This despite the growth and flavour of the day of on-line reporting.) In a variety of studies, property crimes were estimated to only be reported 40% of the time, violent crimes 48% of the time, and in some of those studies, sexual assaults were only reported as little as 10% of the time.

Of course there is plethora of reasons for this, such as the lack of faith in the police being able to do something, stigma and shame of reporting, minimization of the crime, or fear of retaliation. That all being said, in an FBI study, there was a general consensus that in 50 states, “fewer than half of crimes in the U.S. are reported and only half of those are solved.” This is also true in Canada, where Statistics Canada has developed the General Social Survey on Victimization, which also concludes that the “vast majority of offences never come to the attention of law enforcement. “

So if one takes into consideration that crime statistics are by their very nature, distorted and not presenting the whole picture, then there is a serious and difficult problem in policy making in the policing realm. It is a lot easier to try and figure out where to retire, than whether crime fighting efforts are working for instance. How do you estimate resourcing needs when you cannot measure the true amount of crime?

So to sum up, you should probably disregard my retirement advice in this blog. In the meantime, I will continue to live in the heart of downtown Vancouver. Safe within my world of the drug addicted and mentally distraught patrons of the streets, believing that it is not that bad, just think of those poor souls in the country. Plus, I did not want to have to buy a gun, I am much more peace loving in my retirement years and the thought of getting into a gun fight at my age seems a little preposterous, especially with my eyesight failing and a shaky trigger pull.

A “Special Meeting” or a “Coup d’etat”

Posted on July 2, 2026 by Pete Cross

Julius Caesar being stabbed by multiple Roman senators in a chaotic and violent scene

Julius Caesar was stabbed twenty-three times on the Ides of March in 44 BC, by a group of Roman Senators who felt that a pre-emptive strike was necessary in defence of the Roman Republic, asserting that Caesar’s lifelong political authority threatened their political authority. Flash forward to 2026 and replace the theatre of Pompey in Rome with the Police Board in Surrey and you have a broad analogy of the recent firing of police Chief Norm Lepinsky. The Caesar assassination was carried out by a group of Senators, such as Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus. Replace them with Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke playing Brutus, and maybe Councillor and former RCMP officer Rob Stutt as Longinus.

That being said, I will admit that it is a bit of stretch to compare the multi-pensioned Lepinski to Caesar, but it is quite clear that the “constructive dismissal” of him, where he was given two days to either resign or be fired was clearly a stab in the back orchestrated by a city council and the Police Board. Despite what the Mayor says, the orchestration of the firing seems to draw a straight line and point to Locke herself. It would also seem that the only plausible motive was clear political revenge and for the record no other explanation has been offered. It will be a costly move for the citizens of Surrey as one must remember that being terminated “without cause” means that by definition it was therefore unrelated to any serious misconduct. It is a requirement under those circumstances that the Board provide at least 3-12 months notice for this termination; which also was not done. The firing of course was conducted in a “special session” and therefore away from public eyes and also just happened when the Chair of the Board Harley Chappell was unable to attend. Chappell was clearly blind sided and was not happy. He went public with his feelings, then resigned, only to be followed by a second councillor James Carwana, who was also upset about the process that led to the firing.

This is indeed a depressing police story and it is both a reflection of the sad state of police management in this country, especially in the RCMP, as well as an exposure of the level of politicization that has become part of policing and has now firmly taken root. Before going further, I will apologize to those readers outside B.C. who may have not been following along with the political/police shenanigans that has been ongoing for years now in Surrey. To catch you up the Surrey Detachment was the largest RCMP Canadian detachment in Canada and it is in the process of being removed and replaced by a municipal police force, the Surrey Police Services. The bumpy and frustrated transition is in its third year now. ( I have written previous blogs of the ongoing tumult within Surrey and the events leading up to this latest development)

In short, it has become a political and logistical mess. The transition battle which has been heartily fought by the local RCMP Senior management and the current Mayor Brenda Locke as they teamed up to fight the removal of the RCMP. The RCMP officers who have been prominent in the fight I have been told by sources, included; now Deputy Commissioner Dwayne McDonald who is the current Commander for E Division, the former head of Surrey Detachment Brian Edwards (more about him to follow), and the likes of former A/Commissioner Manny Mann and Chief Superintendent Sean Gill who was then also of Surrey detachment. I am told that from the beginning this group were the cheerleaders for Mayor Locke and her Surrey Connect Party in the last Surrey municipal election. In that campaign Locke ran on a promise to reverse the decision to switch to a municipal detachment. Keep these names in mind because if we stick to the analogy these individuals would be playing the Senators roles in the Roman times. During that election, Locke was running against Doug McCallum, which is also important to remember as we tell this story.

Locke was elected in October 2022 with 27% of the vote, 1% greater than Doug McCallum who remains her arch nemesis and is also running in the next election. A month later in November 2022, Surrey City Council voted 5-4 to stop the Municipal force in its tracks, even though the transition had already started in 2018 and the transition process had already cost over $100 million in “sunk” costs.

Enter the other player in this story; former RCMP officer Rob Stutt who ran for City Council under the Locke banner and joined her in the fight to retain the RCMP. In the 5-4 vote, he cast the deciding vote for the return of the RCMP. There was a problem though. Mr. Stutt’s wife and son worked for the RCMP in Surrey (his daughter at the time of this writing now also works for the Surrey RCMP). Clearly a conflict of interest, but one apparently that former officer Rob Stutt did not see. So a complaint was filed at the time by the Surrey Police union over Stutt’s clear conflict of interest; and in the end the Ethics Commissioner confirmed that he had in fact contravened Section 21 of the City’s code of conduct. The punishment was that in the future Mr. Stutt needed to be “mindful of conflict of interest” (by the way the Surrey Ethics Commissioner was selected by a Committee of Council which included Mayor Locke). Ironically, Rob Stutt in his election platform had listed as his “Key Projects” that he was involved with: “No. 1 retaining the RCMP”, No. 2 Ethics and Integrity and No. 3 Accountable Development”. (In terms of full disclosure, I worked with Rob in the Surrey Serious Crime Section for a number of years and I find it difficult to believe he did not understand the concept of a conflict of interest –then again I am having trouble recognizing this former cop now turned politician).

After this vote, the provincial government reassessed, but in the end once again sided with the formation of the Municipal force, and ordered the City to go along, promising them further monies to wash away the bad taste in the mouth of grumpy Brenda and her council. Over the next couple of years, Locke and her disciples felt that it would be better to continue the fight then give in, so there were constant eruptions between Ms. Locke and the SPS. There were police budget cuts, complaints of Lepinski not being overly concerned about asian extortion police shootings in the south east asian community (Locke calling for a national inquiry); complaints of how Lepinski was allocating police resources, and ordering Lepinski to move faster with the takeover of the Cloverdale area of Surrey. At the street operatoinal level the discontentment and bad feelings began to grow, often boiling over between the Mounties and the new SPS. On the other side of the fence, other sources tell me that some of the hires by the new agency, borne out of desperation to fill the numbers are lacking both in experience and professionalism. People are saying that a lot of their hires were based on connections and friendships driven by “double dipping”and less on investigative capability leaving widening gaps in operational abilities. For his part Lepinski, the politician seems to have over promised the speed and capabilities of the transition.

But the saga does not stop there. Ms. Locke seemed to remain fixated on the need for political control of the police department.

Mayor Locke then appointed the previously reported on Brian Edwards of the Surrey RCMP to a new position in the city of Surrey; one she created, to head the new Public Safety Department. This meant that the SPS and Chief Lepinski and the Fire Chief would now report to Edwards, a person who actively campaigned with the RCMP to get rid of the Surrey Police Service. The first shot in the planned coup seems to have begun.

Despite all this, on November 29, 2024, the SPS became the official police of jurisdiction for the City of Surrey.

Two years later in March 2026, a shake up of the Police Board occurs and the Provincial government in “consultation with the Mayor” Brenda Locke announces some board members being replaced with new members. Locke no longer would be the Chair of the police board, but one of the few members retained for the new Board was Rob Stutt.

A month and a half later, on May 11, 2026 the Mayor issues a statement that she was against Lepinski removing resources from the eight member gang unit to the Cloverdale area of Surrey, saying that disagreed strongly with her police Chief.

May 29, 2026 the Police Board now being chaired by Rob Stutt due to the temporary absence of Police Board Chair Chappell, calls for a “special meeting” to be held in camera, in other words behind closed doors and not to be observed by the public.

On June 1st Lepinski returns from vacation and is fired as a result of that meeting, or asked to resign within two days. Mayor Locke in a scene out of Goodfellas where an alibi is needed, says that she was “out of town” and stressed how the decision that was made was made by an “independent police board” that she “didn’t even know for sure” that he had been fired. Unfortunately for the Board the drama that unfolded drew the ire of the general public, became a topic on local radio, and various interests began to chime in, most of whom smelled something fishy about the whole process.

Mayor Locke by the way is headed to an election of October 2026. The afore mentioned Doug McCallum has once again entered the Mayoral race and on June 10th, in a press conference asserts the obvious– that “political pressure drove the decision” to remove Lepinski. He files a formal complaint with the Provincial government. He asserts that the Police Act was violated, and points the finger directly at Rob Stutt. Premier Eby and his government now say that they weren’t involved but that the “Board followed the legal procedures” and they didn’t really want to get involved anymore; despite being directly involved in all of it since the very beginning.

The city and the Police Board needed to do damage control.

On June 17th, 2026 the Board held a meeting that was open to the public and things predictably got heated. The police board aimed to try and stymie the backlash and passed a”Directive” which aimed to curtail any comments coming from the SPS and its executives. It directed from that point forward the SPS could not publicly criticize, have personal opinions, engage in speculative commentary or undermine the role of the Board. The directive passed, led by the new Board chair Perm Jawanda who when asked about the firing of Lepinski stated that he was replaced because of “where they were headed they needed a different leader”. Also in the meeting a former Board member stood up and accused Stutt and the new Board of improper behaviour and said that they should all resign. They called her out of order and adjourned the meeting.

The whole embarassment is captured on video.

I have reached out to Rob Stutt for comment, however his email is no longer valid. It is likely that he is unable to comment at this time, as I am sure the lawyers for the City are trying to get a Non-disclosure agreement in front of Lepinski and avoid the risk of being involved in a wrongful dismissal suit.

The new chair of the police board, Perm Jawanda for her part has said that “I don’t see the political influence”. Much like Rob Stutt not seeing the conflict of interest. All involved have to be assuming that most of us are stupid, and that the voters of Surrey will forget before October 2026.

As the saga plays out in the press the Board promises that a quick replacement will be found. One of the front runners, I am told, and believe it or not, now seems to be none other than Dwayne McDonald of the RCMP. So Mr. Edwards and Mr. McDonald could be reunited once again. If that happens, the coup would then be complete and Locke will have her faithful servants standing with her prior to the election. I am being told that the current group of Deputies in the SPS are not interested in the Chief’s job after watching all the political machinations with Locke and crew over the last couple of years. I was also told that Deputy Howard Chow of the Vancouver City Police was a candidate but is also not interested.

The fact that this lunacy was and continues to be demonstrated in what was the RCMP’s largest municipal detachment in Canada makes this historically sad. As a former long standing member of the RCMP I am embarrassed by the lack of ethics or principles on the part of the senior Mounties. However I was not a fan of the choice of Lepinski either. Admittedly, in the end I was in favour of the transition, because I thought the SPS were needed in that fast growing city, and they needed to get away from the Ottawa controlled bureaucracy of the RCMP. However, my confidence has been shaken by some of the personnel hired for the Surrey Police Service who were often political and friend choices, sometimes based on desperation and not based on a track record. Now with the firing of the Chief in this underhanded fashion and if Locke and her crew get their way, it seems that the Surrey Police Service, possibly led by the double dipping Mounties who once hated them, are now destined for a very rocky road in the coming years. Despite the directive to silence any discontent, the members on both sides are going to continue to talk, albeit under their breath. It could get very uncomfortable.

At the very least, even though there are central privacy issues in the firing, the citizens of Surrey have a right to know what happened, what and who promoted the firing of Lepinski, and how much it is going to cost in the end. And they should be told before the next municipal election. These problems are not the fault of the uniform officers on either side of the debate, the problem originates and has been exacerbated by short sighted regional politics, a lack of ethics and integrity and unprincipled senior police management. And, like a lot of coups, we can only hope that it may be short lived.

The Cost of FIFA

Posted on June 10, 2026June 10, 2026 by Pete Cross

Adidas Tango soccer ball on green grass near soccer goal

This is a personal bitch. I just spent 20 minutes trying to circumvent the 1st Ave and Terminal Ave area in downtown Vancouver, a city where I live, which I have nicknamed the City of Sirens. I wasn’t the only person trying to reroute so as expected, grid lock quickly ensued. This main intersection we learned was now blocked with a sleepy looking VPD officer sitting inside his vehicle, staring at his phone, parked behind a somewhat flimsy wooden barricade, but clearly ready to pounce should a nearby resident dare to try and breach the barrier and get back to their nearby apartment. It took a few moments for me to realize, ah yes, the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) security was now in place–three weeks before the 1st game. No doubt all the frustrated drivers who were trying to do u- turns were captured venting their frustration on one of the two hundred extra security cameras now in place around the stadium, which also was cocooned by 12′ high barricades.

Later that same day, sirens erupted once again and those of us sitting in our cars in rush hour were surrounded by numerous motorcycle cops, blazing by, who quickly gained the intersection, jumped off their bikes and began urgently directing traffic and forcing everyone to again divert around them. It was just another “practise” session for FIFA security. As a resident of downtown Vancouver, even as a sports fan, I am here to tell you that my patience with this city is beginning to thin.

I’m sure you haven’t missed the news that the World Cup of football (“soccer” to you North Americans) is coming to Vancouver and Toronto who are hosting thirteen games between them, starting in the merry month of June. Forty-eight countries, 104 games in 16 cities spread throughout the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

So as I drive and encounter the various road closures around the stadium and other parts of the city, I am given quite a bit of time to ponder whether this could all be worth it.

To make some sort of assessment, I guess you need to know how much it is going to cost. Well, you will quickly learn that the cost depends on who you ask and what the authorities deem you are able to know without causing an undue security risk to the attendees. Global news recently estimated that in 2025 the cost for Vancouver was given as $624 million, while in 2026 the cost is now $729 million. Of that $729 million, they attribute $242 million to policing costs. Canada’s Parliamentary budget office recently estimated the total cost to Vancouver to be around $578 million. A disparity in measurements, but all these pronounced figures have the caveat attached that costs could go higher.

Our local mayor Ken Sim says not to worry, the spin off residual economic impact is the equivalent of “40 Super Bowl” parties, although he says it is not his job to “crunch numbers” (Ken Sim’s background prior to being a mayor is as an accountant) The other government officials involved in the Province and at the Federal level bloviate that the spinoff is about $1 billion –and not only that it will lead to an additional 100 million people wanting to visit Vancouver over the next five years.

This is of course is the same rinse and repeat arguments that were brought up for the 2010 Olympics in terms of the expected increased economic benefits and the greater visibility for Vancouver around the world. The Vancouver Olympics came in at a cost of $1.9 billion. The operational budget, was balanced off through operations. However, they did not take into account the infrastructure costs such as the building of the sea to sky highway, or the upgrades to transit, or the $603 million spent on venue development. Spinoff benefit measurements from those Olympics or at these World Cup games are in economic terms difficult to measure as they suffer from a high degree of speculative data, often based on surveys, or general measurements such as hotel room occupancy. Positive attributions can be easily skewed and FIFA organizers like Olympic organizers are often the masters of promotional accounting.

For these seven world cup games, they are currently estimating that Vancouver will attract another 350,000 visitors for the games themselves. Sounds impressive, but let’s put it in some perspective. For the last three Taylor Swift concerts that were in Vancouver in 2024, they estimate that it drew 160,000– 70% of which were from out of town. So maybe not 40 Super Bowls Mr. Sim, but a better comparison as an economic spinoff may be if there had been seven Taylor Swift concerts, which, by the way, would have likely outdrawn the current World Cup. Nevertheless, FIFA has proclaimed that there will be a world wide $41 billion economic benefit. They point to various groups which will reap in the greatest rewards: hotels, airlines, beer stocks, Adidas, Puma, Nike, McDonalds, Dominos Pizza, and $380-400 million to the advertising agencies. There is little doubt that these groups will benefit, as they did when Taylor Swift appeared on the big stage.

The big difference between the Swifties and sporting events like the Olympics and the World Cup is the level and cost of security. We are much more concerned about our safety when the sporting events are on, than when the popstars arrive. In 2010 the Olympics involved over 7,000 police officers over 17 days of events. This World Cup will spread 7 games from June 11th to July 19th; 17 days of events during the Olympics versus 7 days of events for the World Cup. Yet to police the World Cup it is going to require 800 additional officers being brought in (I was told 1000 by a source) helping to fill the requirements for over 1200 officers per day. A security contingent for these games therefore larger than the Olympics.

The security bureaucracy will indeed be large. There will be an “Integrated Safety Unit” comprised of 18 agencies, including fire, ambulance, transit and “health authorities” (During the olympics they called it Gold, Silver and Bronze Command Centres). They will also be guarding practise facilities at UBC and Killarney Park, the Fan Festival, and the airport and the numerous hotels to look after the various VIP’s and one-percenters.

Dave Jones, who is head of Security for these Vancouver events and the 1200 officers per day (he is a former Chief of New Westminster Police Department and its 104 officers) outlined what he considered the potential risks during these games; “fraud, petty crimes, unruly behaviour, protecting pedestrians from vehicle ramming, and cyber attacks”. There is also a major concern over “human trafficking” and there is even a “Human Rights Action Plan” to insure “non-discrimination” against “un-housed residents”. He proudly added as further assurance that the RCMP will be using “drone detection technology” and the roof will be closed to avoid any foreign drone attacks one must presume. Some will argue that global tensions are different in 2026, than say the Olympics in 2010, that could be true, but this is still a sporting event, and one has to wonder how much is too much.

I fervently believe that this unprecedented level of security for a series of football games is an almost self fulfilling prophecy. One could argue that if the goal is to prevent any level of concern, then there is an infinite amount of security that can be undertaken. To the casual observer it does seem that the more the merrier theme is currently running rampant through policing and security in our current environment and in the various police agencies–what once took two, now takes six. Has it reached what I believe to be a ridiculous level of caution? (FIFA recently announced that you cannot bring refillable water bottles into the venue, as a caution as someone might bring in a bottle containing poison which they would throw at the players).

The other big question of course is who is paying? Well in essence you the taxpayer and the people that purchase tickets. (My last check of ticket prices showed a price of $400 for a nose bleed section ticket in a game between Australia and Turkey and the average room rate at a hotel was $900). Public Safety Canada (you the taxpayer) is going to kick in $100 million, and Vancouver is going to use the 2.5% hotel tax, referred to as the MRDT, which has been in place since 2023 (to date the tax has generated $105.7 million.) Sports Canada (also you the taxpayer) will kick in $116 million. So the cost coverage will be generated by taxes from hotel goers and then tax dollars spread over various levels of government. Of course, the actual cost as we stated before seems to be fluid. We must be reminded that the Olympic security budget was at one time estimated at $175 million and went to $900 million, but hey all is forgiven.

So who is complaining, other than we locals? The police officers involved are not complaining. They will all be on overtime trying to get that down payment for the house. The officers who have to make up for them being gone from their regular duties may complain. The members of the general public who are often docile and silent seem to be accepting of the fact that nothing changes, everything just gets bigger and more expensive, including policing and those ticket prices. The acceptance of this level of funding gets a little more blurry though if one considers other spending priorities. For instance, if we assume that we will be spending roughly $700 million for the ability to watch 7 games; we could instead build 46 elementary schools, pay the annual salary and costs of an additional 2,333 police officers, or buy 35 million single dose bags of heroin, or 3.5 million grams of fentanyl to be given out at Vancouvers’ safe supply clinics. Or if we assume a cost of $35,000 per person for a private addiction treatment facility, that would be enough money to care for 20,000 people.

Clearly, its’s always a matter of perspective and who will benefit. Who is paying is not a mystery, how much the total cost will be still is. Of course this is not a concern for FIFA or apparently for our various levels of government.

So welcome to Vancouver all you avid football fans and most of all stay safe.

p.s. the Federal budget watchdog, now estimates the cost of FIFA Canada wide as $1.06 billion or $82 million per game.

A dwindling sense of Honesty

Posted on May 28, 2026 by Pete Cross

Stack of books about honesty, truth, integrity, and authenticity on wooden table

“Honesty is the best policy…” a quote attributed to Mark Twain, but that common expression used and over used over the years, is not quite accurate. The actual quote is “honesty is the best policy when there is money in it”. Maybe Mr. Twain was hedging his bets a bit as well.

Honesty is a facet of a moral character, a facet interwoven with integrity, truthfulness and sincerity. We have been taught through the years that honesty is the hallmark of a moral person and a virtue to which one must aspire. We clearly have strayed from this basic virtue. An expectation of honesty has been replaced by what political handlers call “strategic dishonesty” or “political manoeuvring “. A place where ambiguity often prevails over universal truths.

Most would agree that we have gone astray, that honesty during the last number of years in our social, cultural and political discourse in this country has been moving farther and farther away. With little doubt it has been spurred by the information age, and we now seem to be forever immersed in a world where spin and social marketing is the ultimate priority of government and every level of our commercial and social existence. “Belief speaking”, where “subjective facts” are produced rather than verifiable facts. A desire to convince or push an agenda forward has subsumed honest portrayal and any level of level serious discussion. For the politicians, ambiguous, practiced answers play before the cameras and microphones and if that doesn’t work they simply obfuscate often to the point of silliness. The ultimate result of this “progressive” society is that our faith in the system and the workings of our functional democracy is also dwindling. Sadly, the silent majority seem to be staying silent, allowing the fringes of extremism on both sides of the left/right spectrum to dominate and lead any conversation.

In the government, this dishonesty is coupled with overwhelming levels of governmental bureaucracy which also wants to hide beyond reach of the average citizen. We are not allowed to peak behind the Oz curtain as it is believed that this could cause disruption, and the need to know or transparency merely a fanciful talking point. The government constantly appeals to our faith in the system and the limited journalists of the 5th Estate have been reduced to the point of only being able to echo the government message. The media cling to the edge of obscurity, being pushed by the information age with its streamers and pundits, and they now make great efforts to catch our attention with just the headlines and the protracted sound bites. In the print media, there is even the term “native advertising” which refers to where articles are written as paid content but disguised to look like news. The story is often less than the headline, often misleading or not a reflection of the facts, and even more dangerous, often the view of their political supporters.

In the battle for their very existence, media seems to be always trying to sell us, with their constant banners of “Breaking News”, with outrageous headlines disguising rather commonplace stories. Rain is now an “atmospheric river”, a single case of a virus in the country demands photos of hazmat suits and dire warnings of imminent danger, designed to seek attention, not to inform. An interesting measurement of this transition is how many journalism jobs now end up in political or commercial marketing jobs. In an article by Dwayne Winsech of Carleton University he shows that in 1987 there were roughly 40,000 persons of journalism backgrounds working in public relations. In 2021 there were 180,000

As a result of this never ending bafflegab being regurgitated and re-posted, our tolerance for the media message even among the once faithful readers or those that as a matter of routine watched the nightly news is also evaporating. Many of the newer generations now throw up their hands, often accepting the misinformation with a shrug, while some just tune out and choose to be uninvolved.

In the Hogue inquiry in 2024/25 in Canada which looked into Foreign Interference in Canadian Politics, it is baldly stated that “disinformation” was one of the greatest threats to democracy. Yet, we plunge ahead without comment, unless of course it affects us an individual, affects our income or our job security, then we begin to pay attention. The individual good is now over the common good.

Some recent developments include, the Senate Committee hearings were recently closed off to the viewing public; a number of Conservative members crossed over to the Liberals. Both of which are simply dishonest acts, The executive branch where leaders like Carney, Eby, and Ford, reminds me of philosopher Fredrick Nietzsche who said they “muddy the water to make it seem deep”.

Then there is the judicial branch of government of which the policing world is a part. We often turn to the courts in this country to act as a stop gap to dishonesty. They are often assigned the task of clarifying the law and its impacts on citizens, and providing an honest and just interpretation. But they too have often been closed off to scrutiny. Things such as publication bans, put in place by Section 648(1) of the Criminal Code which stifle any reporting of the case “before the jury returns to consider the verdict”. Judges routinely grant these publication bans without much forethought. I fully believe that all the courtrooms need to be open to the cameras so the public can actually see and hear what is going on. Prolonged trials, adjournments, lawyers playing games, would be shocking to the novice viewer, much like watching the Parliamentary question period.

There are many stories of justice denied, justice delayed, and repeat offenders running amok. Even the Supreme Court of Canada, led by Chief Justice Richard Wagner is showing obvious signs of politicization. A poll by Angus Reid found most Canadians are less knowledgable about the Supreme Court than the Americans, but the vast majority still believe it to be impartial. But only 49% have confidence in the country’s top court. This dichotomy may be the result of such things as the Emergencies Act which when proclaimed the government stated that people should “simply trust it was justified”.

So we have now reached a state where in a recent poll 44% of Canadians believe that much of the information they receive from news organizations is false. There is little doubt that there is even less trust in statements by politicians which according to one poll is about 17% approval. With all the negative publicity surrounding policing in the last number of years, some of it justified, some of it totally missing the mark, it is clear that part of the policing problem is also a fundamental growing distrust.

U.C. Berkeley Law in a publication state that there are nine policing principles: selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty, leadership, fairness and respect.

I believe that we do all right in some of these areas, but one would be naive to argue that we are doing well in all categories. In a paper entitled Policing for London (U.K.) the author, Maurice Punch, argues for “honest policing” where senior officers are clear about what they can deliver and not deliver, and they should not unduly raise expectations. As a local example, does anyone believe that the public is getting honest answers when it comes to the current “crisis” in Surrey in the extortion cases? Does anyone believe that the RCMP leadership is being forthcoming as to the current vacancies, or open about their overall mandate and their ability to fulfill that mandate? Are they being honest about the problems surrounding finding “honest” applicants? Are they being honest when they talk about the effectiveness of the addition of the Blackhawk helicopters?

The big stumbling block to being honest in government circles, is that by admitting anything negative you are courting being framed as a failure. In 1986 I attended a “media relations” training course, where they instructed us in how not to be caught up in our answers to reporters questions. They gave us a script that showed the story for which we were doing a media briefing. It was in three parts, what we could talk about, what we shouldn’t talk about, and what we could not say at any cost. They then had actual journalists interview us and they would try to get to the third level of things we could not answer or reveal the information. All this is to say that are institutions have been in training for many years, decades in fact, on how to muddy the waters. To walk that fine line between honest and dishonest. To be always “moving forward”, always “working with our partners”, taking care of all Canadians from “coast to coast to coast”. If we could only inject a bit of honesty, think how the world will change. Albert Einstein reminds us that in the end “whoever is careless with truth in small matters cannot be entrusted with important matters”.

Disability

Posted on May 15, 2026May 15, 2026 by Pete Cross

Hacker in a hoodie working at a computer with a fraud alert and credit card data on screen

Considering the sensitive nature of this topic it seems likely that some of you will be upset with the overall theory of this blog, whose theme suggests that there are numerous ongoing claims of “disability” that —-dare I say, may be fraudulent. I will also apologize ahead of time for those of you readers who have “legitimate” claims. However, I am going to openly suggest that some “veterans” may in fact be milking the system. Even if you have doubts, do you not think it possible that a system that promises tax free monies often based on subjective evidence may be seen by some as an opportunity for fraud? None of you can deny of often hearing anecdotal stories from veterans claiming numerous medical issues and their pressing need, argument and demand for compensation. There are even web platforms dedicated to the subject.

On a singular and simple level any claim for a work related injury would and should be based on solid medical evidence and therefore assumed to be legitimate. But often when I would hear these stories, it was accompanied by the casual knowing smirk or smile in the persons telling of the story which so often drew my attention and raised a cynical eyebrow. I would also hear the word “entitled” a lot, a word that makes me shiver. So I thought I should inquire a little further.

Human nature being what it is, anytime the government offers up some tax free money I naturally assume there will be a lineup. The question is how long has that disability line become. Equally true is that there is no longer any stigma attached to claiming any disability. Offers of mental health assistance and help lines predominate the commercial air waves and are often aimed at military and policing circles. Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) although a serious ailment is almost in vogue. Do I think PTSD is real? I do. Do I think that the system is wide open to wide spread fraud? I do.

Here are some of the most recent available numbers. Between 2014 and 2019 there was a 69% increase in RCMP members claiming “psychiatric disability” and as a result receiving disability benefits. In March of 2019 there were 16,254 recipients of disability payments, by 2024/25 that number in the RCMP had increased to 21,000. And the applications keep coming. The backlog at Veterans Affairs Canada was 20,000 in March 2007 and that backlog in June of 2020 increased by 150% to 50,000. Another somewhat startling number is that the current rate of approval for these claims is 88% in the very first instance.

The Union for the RCMP, the National Police Federation estimates that for the last fourteen years there has been a 184% increase in long term sick leave.

All of this should raise several pertinent questions that should demand further examination. What are the underlying reasons for these dramatic increases in health issues? How much is this costing? What pressures are being exerted on the organization when faced with this level of claimed disabilities?

Veterans Affairs Canada oversees this program and also oversees the Canadian Armed Forces. The RCMP portion of the disability claims actually only amounts to 10% of the total. So in terms of overall costs to the government, the numbers grow quickly when you add in the military claimants. In total in Canada there are 177,000 individuals claiming disability benefits, of which 20,686 are members or former members of the RCMP. Overall those claims in 2021/2022 are growing at 2.1% per year and costing VAC $606.1 million for disability pension expenditures, another $352.5 million for survivor pensions, and then if you include “special awards” the total comes to $1,046.6 million. Keep in mind that War Service Veterans are declining during this period. The level of employees needed to process these claims in Veterans Affairs Canada is 4,200 employees based in Charlottetown Prince Edward Island.

When asked, the VAC officially attributes this massive rise in claims to four different things.

a) a growing need for mental health services

b) rising number of medically released Veterans

c) the introduction of the Pension for Life program and finally

d) “improved outreach” (which could be translated into people know the money is there now.)

The most common medical complaints which generate those benefits, currently : Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Tinnitus, and Hearing Loss.

Most of you will have guessed where I am going with this. There has to be some consideration given to the fact that there may be a lot of frauds being committed mixed in there with legitimate claims. Even Veterans Affairs say that the “VA system is considered vulnerable” mainly due to its reliance on “self-reporting” and “insufficient verification”. However, the Federal government at the same time clearly does not want to offend “veterans”. That is a public relations no-no and believed to be political voter suicide. So VAC officially says that actual fraud is “considered rare” that there are some faking or exaggerating conditions in a system where claims they readily admit are often based on “non-visible” injuries. One estimate they offer is that fraud in the VA system is less than 0.01%. Does that not seem inordinately low considering the type of system in place and the amount of anecdotal stories abounding about?

As it turns out, that is not the experience or the conclusion of the Americans who run a similar system, and one where they spend $193 billion a year on medical disability claims. There are 900 conditions in the U.S. system that can enable a claim; sleep apnea, migraines, and erectile dysfunction to name just a few. Getting a 100% disabled designation in their system is referred to by claimants as gaining “the holy grail”. The Department of Justice, unlike Canada, believes that there is massive fraud, especially in the PTSD claims, and their studies which they have undertaken show that 20-30% of claims are exaggerated or faked. In personal injury claims in the military they estimate the fraud runs at about 20%. They have investigated and found “fraud mills”, disabled benefit receivers holding and working full time jobs, and investigators and reporters talk openly about the “claim shark” industry.

The Americans have identified, like in Canada, that the biggest growth for claims is in the category of PTSD. They have 402,000 files in their database and point out the seemingly obvious, that the biggest problem is that PTSD is the most difficult to prove or nullify. PTSD diagnosis is also on a sliding scale and it is also problematic because some of the conditions that are being looked for are such things as “flashbacks”, “nightmares”, “negative thoughts mood swings, and detachment from others” which are difficult to define.

In Canada, to claim PTSD one merely needs some level of “diagnosis accompanied by a medical statement from a doctor, psychiatrist, or psychologist in support of that claim”. There clearly are many doctors signing off on these claims, and it would be an interesting investigation to see if some doctors are being “shopped” for their signatures. Once you go through the process, you’re usually “in” as in March of 2023 there was a 96% success rate of those claims of PTSD. Psychologists, as a matter of interest believe that 9.2 % of Canadians will have PTSD in some form in their lifetime.

Now, we could assume that the American experience is not ours. That the Americans just lie more, Canadians are just more trustworthy (which is I guess what the Feds in this country believe). But if we assume that there is some level of fraud in Canadian claims we shouldn’t worry because we believe that the system will monitor and go after the cheats.

Well, that too is a a bit of a problem, because like a lot of laws in Canada there is no real internal investigative support for fraud. The Federal government answer is that there are “several different bodies” tasked with fraud investigations. Service Canada has the Integrity Services Branch, but they only investigate EI, OAS, and CPP claims. Veterans Canada says that they have “internal mechanisms to “review and audit disability benefits”, but when you look further they are only looking across departments to see if there is duplication over various claims. Public Service and Procurement Canada has an “SIID” team, which tasks against “individuals defrauding federal benefits payments” although I could not uncover any specific cases of prosecution, except for one out of London, Ontario where they charged a woman for collecting a veterans survivor benefit long after the veteran had died.

The VAC does admit to there having been over 1,000 “over payments ” some as high as $65,000, caused by persons having failed to report additional income. So they have sent out letters to try and recoup the money, and obviously this also means that there is about 1,000 veterans who may or may not have been overly careful in their filings of received income. If this myriad of oversight agencies fail, the VA says they also refer any truly fraudulent criminal matters to the RCMP. Say no more.

At this point, let me again be the first to say that there are some very legitimate disability claims and that some people have suffered a great deal in terms of their ailments and physical damages as a result of being on the job and are needing taxpayer support. (in terms of full and frank disclosure, I receive a single disability payment of about $300 a month due to a spinal injury from VAC) But, I also believe that when a government opens up the coffers and points to and even advertises a pot of potential gold, some officers come out of the wood work and begin trying to figure out how they can “get me some of that”. When you combine this with an administrative inability to confirm “significant” impairments and you have willing doctors who can be manipulated to play the system, then there will undoubtedly be fraud. I don’t believe we are different than the Americans, the difference is that the Americans are more diligent in their oversight and investigation. When I ask various individuals why they are claiming for certain ailments, you often get part of the response which includes the words “entitled” and then they rationalize that the “money is there, might as well take it”.

For me this type of rationale leaves a bitter after taste. Anyone gouging this system should be ashamed, you are tainting your service and possibly taking from those that truly need it. The equally sad truth is that in Canada you are not going to get caught. So in the end it falls back to the individual and their personal level of integrity, something which unlike Federal monies seems to be at times rather limited.

Fund or Defund…

Posted on April 28, 2026 by Pete Cross

Golden United States one dollar coin with a large dollar sign

Starting on this next phase in the blog, I thought maybe it was time to address some of the fundamental questions of the current dialogues in policing. One of those current and most topical baseline arguments is whether or not the police departments of this country are underfunded and under resourced or is the opposite true, that they need to be de-funded. Chiefs of police at every annual city meeting say they need more resources and ask for more money. Most if not all police officers are of the this same opinion,–that they are under staffed. and therefore unable to properly do their jobs. And then there is the other end of the spectrum, the liberal left that argue that we need less police, more social workers, more compassion and empathy focussing on the disadvantaged, downtrodden and racially stereotyped. Despite all this surface debate, the general public remains for the most part in the dark as to the facts surrounding this central question. Even when pressed on resourcing issues, the police response is often couched in veiled terms so that the average citizen is still left to wonder who is right. This seems like a good time to try and answer this question.

To try and do this we will need to also take a comparative look at the Canadian policing experience, their current level of resources, the costs, the levels of crime in Canada and finally how Canada’s experience compares to the global policing universe.

First, let’s look at Canadian police resourcing. In 2023 there were 71,472 police officers in Canada, 892 more than in 2022. Nineteen thousand of those officers were with the RCMP, who as an organization make up 26.5% of the overall total. The rest of the officers are in either Municipal or Provincial police departments. As a matter of interest, of the 71,472 –55,043 were male and 16,429 were female (22%).

When talking of these overall numbers and whether there is a need to increase or decrease the numbers, the issue of representation and diversity are the ever present underlying goals. So let’s briefly speak to this issue. In the RCMP, females comprise 35% of divisional managers and officer level positions in some divisions and 42 % of leadership positions within the Information Management and Information Technology Services program. Five of the eleven senior executive positions in the RCMP are held by women. The numbers in the municipal agencies, Vancouver City Police as an example, are roughly the same; the VPD estimate that 30% of their ranks are female, while close to 50% of their executive ranks are female. We can safely conclude that currently females are over represented in terms of the nunbers inside policing, but still under represented in terms of the overall general population in Canada which is 50.6 % female.

Ethnic racial groups in Canada are 26.5 % of the Canadian population as of 2023. Only 13% of RCMP officers identify as belonging to an under represented ethnic group, while in the Municipal agencies it was only 7% of the officers. So if one believes that a police officer should be reflective of the general population, there clearly will be a continuing need to hire more from the minority groups as well as females. If there is an expansion in hiring, or a need to increase the overall resources, it is quite clear that the current government policy will dictate that the preference will be given to one of these two groups, which often all represent some different issues in terms of recruitment.

Diversity and inclusion aside, in terms of staffing/resourcing, Canada is now at a ratio of 178 officers per 100,000 in population. This is now the lowest level since 1970. We have to be very careful here as this widely used ratio is determined solely by the measurement of the “calls for service”. That being said, in Canada using this form of measurement means that this ratio is at the lower end in the policing universe. Recently part of the lowering of this ratio has been the increases in overall population in the last few years. For example in 2022-2023 there was a large jump in immigration, close to 1 million people in 2022 and another million again in 2023. If population rises and police resourcing stays the same, obviously the ratio gets lower. If we maintain the ratio, that 2,000,000 increase in population alone would dictate the need for another 3,560 officers. However, that will not be the total explanation.

Before we go further, we must also add in roughly 34,193 full time equivalents or personnel who are in support positions in policing– 88% of which were civilians. So if we add those numbers to the number of fully trained police officers, the actual number is 105,666 employees not 71,472.

There is a further problem in using the metric “calls for service” especially in reference to the RCMP. Currently it is estimated that in Ontario and Quebec there are 2,649 RCMP officers. In those two Provinces, they are not the police of criminal jurisdiction and therefore are not answering “calls for service”. They are there to enforce “Federal” statutes and are in “specialized roles”. So we must subtract the 2,649 from the estimated 19,000 RCMP officers, so this brings us down to 16,351 in terms of potential RCMP officers involved in “calls for service”

So what was the number of “calls for service” ? In 2022/2023 calls for service were actually down 2% from previous years but added up to a total of 11.6 million calls. (Of that, only 2.96 million were responded to by the RCMP- which a general average of 181 calls for service per year amongst the RCMP)

The policing overall Canadian cost was $19.7 billion, a figure which is up 6% from the previous year. Any decision to save or spend money in policing has to take into consideration that salaries and benefits make up 61% of that overall budget. If there is a call for cost cutting measures, it is unlikely that any significant cost cutting could be done without cutting personnel. On an individual level that is about $335.00 per person in Canada, which is a drop of 2% per individual.

In terms of current dollars and also in terms of constant dollars, the cost of policing and the monies being spent has been on a steady increase since the early 1990’s , as demonstrated below.

So the overall cost is increasing and but the individual cost for that has minimally decreased. So how does that compare globally. Remembering in Canada we are at 178 per 100,000, here are some of the numbers from other countries around the world.

Argentina – 798 per 100,000; Belgium 331; Chile 167; Denmark 196; Finland 132; Hong Kong 533; Italy 456; and Monaco 1302.

So it would seem that we are relatively in line with the Scandinavian countries but we will never reach the safety consciousness of Monaco, who take great pride in safe guarding the billionaires in that tiny country. What about the U.S.? Well, it varies. The numbers depend on the State, with a low in the range of 206 to 372; but some of the larger cities like Washington D.C. are at around 500. (The same seems to hold true in Canada in the bigger centres –for instance Vancouver City Police ratio is 220-230 per 100,000.)

Whether we need a greater ratio of police officers has also to be measured against the levels of crime in each country. One of those measurements is the crime severity index.

Around the world it looks like this.

Clearly Canada is in the middle to lower range in terms of this particular measurement, whereas the South American countries are at the higher end.

In terms of the overall ratio of police per 100,000 the numbers as seen in the above chart it has been relatively constant since the 1990’s.

In March 2026 the Auditor General reported that the RCMP are “experiencing, critical worsening staff shortages across the Prairie Provinces (Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Alberta), highlighting a shortfall of some 3400 officers. It describes “failed recruitment targets, high attrition” and a “flexible posting policy” as the main culprits. They do say that there have been a high number of applicants, but they have only accepted 6% of those that applied (which does make you wonder what level of quality are applying), and that it takes 330 days to process an application. Apparently the executive management of the RCMP also “mis-judged” the number of applicants needed. One would think that in this day and age of technology “mis-judging” numbers would be difficult, but apparently they did. On the positive side, I am also being told that the hiring process is currently under a major renovation in the RCMP and that they have launched pilot projects giving Provinces greater control of the hiring, training, and positioning of new officers, to try and fix this rather dramatic shortfalls.

I think we can come to some conclusions. Clearly the police resourcing numbers are low in Canada in comparison to other countries. However the police to people ratio has remained relatively constant. There is an argument to be made for a moderate increase in hiring, especially in RCMP criminal jurisdictions, however it becomes a less worthy argument in terms of the major cities. There are some other highly interesting statistics which further blur the argument for a need for increased resources. The VPD have noted that in terms of “calls for service” they now justify a need for increasing funds saying that there are a greater number of “higher intensity events” and there has been an increase in “complexity” of those calls. For those that don’t know they measure “high intensity” calls as ones where 6 or more officers respond. (It seems to me just from personal observation that almost every call results in 4 to 6 officers now) Since 2020 they say those calls have gone up a staggering 45%. So I might be right in my personal observations. And they also argue that the increased “complexity” in files has led to an increase of 9 minutes being spent on scene per file. (I don’t know how that cannot also be a sign of less productivity…but I will leave that to you.)

Another conclusion we can make is that the increase in police salaries has now reached a point where cost is an even more significant factor in terms of any planned expansion. The taxpayer may find any increase in police resources needs to be examined in much greater detail and a little more frugally due to the ever increasing police salaries.

It is also clear that the resourcing problems of the Municipal and Provincial policing agencies is different than that of the RCMP.

The RCMP issues are structural and policy related as the Auditor General pointed out. Their “staffing crisis” more often lies in understanding the difference between “hard” versus “soft” vacancy rates. Soft vacancy rates are things such as medical, parental or occupational injuries. Their policies and the organizational structure of the RCMP is more at the root of their problems. So an increase in resources could be argued, depending on the cost factor, as long as there is parallel structural change.

The Municipal agencies such as Vancouver City Police, the Surrey Police Service etc are also facing a general lack of resources, but largely due to vacancy rates, not due to structural issues like the RCMP are experiencing in the Prairies. One can only believe that the issues being experienced by the Municipal agencies may be a lesser challenge and can be overcome over time. (Vancouver PD for instance has just got approval for a new in-house training centre)

However, it is not as clear how or whether the Mounties are going to get over their issues. One can understand why the Federal Mounties may be hoping to just get out of criminal work altogether. Katy Perry’s boyfriend on his last days in the job even stated that was what was needed. Get out of the resourcing problem by simply quitting the job.

And we can also finally conclude that there is no plausible argument for defunding. The current levels are already at the bottom end of the global scale, at least if one believes there is always the need for some level of basic policing. The citizens of Portland Oregon can give you some real life answers as to what happens when you dispense of those people that respond to those “calls for service”.

Like a Rolling Stones final tour…I’m back once again

Posted on April 14, 2026April 14, 2026 by Pete Cross

My last blog for the record was November 13th, 2024 and just like Jagger and the Rolling Stones “final” tour, I thought it would be the last. But as you can see now I was wrong and I’m back to post once again. Why? It is a legitimate question but one for which I do not have a clear answer. Maybe subconsciously I always knew I would, as I did continue to maintain the site structure throughout the last couple of years. I was somewhat surprised to see that there were still people visiting the dormant site. Or maybe the reason is that I am just like a Conservative crossing the floor to the Federal Liberals, maybe the motivation can be chalked up to be just plain self interest.

In any event, all that aside, I have decided to begin writing here once again, but maybe not on the pace of one every two weeks. I am slowing down a bit after all.

In reading and watching the news during the past couple of years, it seems unfortunate but predictable that the issues in 2024 and the issues in 2026 have for the most part not changed. Some of the players have changed, or they have changed hats, but there has been very little impact on the overall policies or in the direction in the many levels of government which govern us, nor on the larger issues that plague us every day.

In the last few months there have been some rather striking stories which have stood out. With little doubt some will become part of future blogs. One of the more dramatic recent shifts which cannot be ignored has been the increases in salary in the various policing worlds. The art or science of policing, whichever one chooses to see it as, has become a very lucrative field, far from the solidly middle class occupation it once was. Bonuses and other recruitment tactics are dangling very large carrots in front of the faces of both the fresh and old faces in policing, all in an effort to try to entice police officers to switch loyalties and their uniforms.

This is also occurring at the executive level. Who cannot be astonished by Adam Palmer retiring as the Chief of the Vancouver City Police and a mere two months later taking up with the RCMP as an Assistant Commissioner. I am told he is now in charge of “recruiting”and now trying to figure out how to steal recruits from the VPD and bring them over to the Mounties after just having spent the last few months of his Chief’s job trying to steal officers from the RCMP. His larger than life salary with the VPD in 2024 was $487,224.00 ,not including his $58,867 in expenses. Now his already formidable government pension is being supplanted by a new salary of roughly $230,000 as Assistant Commissioner. It kind of makes your eyes water.

Meanwhile in sunny Surrey the duel between the Surrey Police Service and what’s left of the RCMP’s largest detachment continues unabated. Unfortunately, the Mayor of Surrey remains the same, who although she lost the battle for control of the police force, still feels it necessary to try and poke the new police force in the eye as well as put up political roadblocks to the very agency which now polices her city. She recently hired and created a position for former Assistant Commissioner Brian Edwards of the RCMP, who was head of the Surrey RCMP from 2020 to 2024 and one of the players actively duking it out with the leadership of the newly formed Surrey Police Service. He was someone who was clearly a fan of mayor Brenda Locke and her fight to keep the RCMP, so now, it seems he has been rewarded. He is now head of the brand new “Public Safety Department” for the City of Surrey; appointed by the same Brenda Locke where will provide “corporate oversight of the City’s role in the police transition plan” as part of his duties. Besides being another double dipping head shake, one cannot help but assume that future inter-government cooperation between the City and the Surrey Police Service will with little doubt be acrimonious and likely the fodder of future headlines.

At the Provincial political level, here in lotus land British Columbia, the most intriguing political battle is the one coming with the Indigenous. In a past blog I had written about the BC government’s adoption of the the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). It was what I believed at the time, nothing but fanciful “wokeness”. I believed it to be an ill thought out policy which I contended would have serious negative economic ramifications. That seems to have come true.

The passage of this bill and the various court processes has now resulted and led to a 700 page judgement by a Supreme Court Judge in 2025 (Cowichan Tribes versus Canada) who has stated that aboriginal title can “co-exist” with private “fee simple” property ownership. One interpretation being bandied about now, is that aboriginal title is now superior to fee simple titles. This of course is causing issues with land, financing and mortgage renewals. The ruling resulted in the usually silent majority erupting and now Premier Eby has been forced into putting a hold on the reflective statute called DRIPA (Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act) which was passed in 2019. The matter is now headed for the Supreme Court of Canada, eventually, but it will be a years long legal journey to the top court. The Indigenous leaders of course are very upset. But, make no mistake, this about money, more about what they now term as “economic reconciliation”.

And while we are on the subject of the Indigenous, in Kamloops there still has been no digging for graves at the residential school. In May 2022 there were promises of excavations “coming soon” but two years later in 2026, no such investigation has taken place; although the Kamloops band has taken in the $9 million that was handed over for this effort. The Kamloops chief now maintains that there is no consensus as to whether or not they should ever dig at the site. What I find equally disturbing, is that despite the allegations of possibly buried children and the initial narrative of it being a mass grave site, the RCMP feels no need to be involved or take the lead in the investigation. Politics dictating and overriding criminal investigation. I never thought I would see that day.

In Ontario ( the centre of the Canadian universe) in the next few months many of us will be drawn to the corruption story headlined “Project South” where a total of 7 officers of the Toronto Metro Police are facing 41 charges related to corruption. The alleged charges are serious, where they were caught passing on police classified information to the bad guys and as a result someone may have been actually killed. It also sounds like the evidence against them may be overwhelming. As more details come forward there is little doubt that it will warrant further examination and a blog on its own.

Before finishing up this blog, as an aside, some have asked me about what happened to the “other” writing projects. One of those projects was a book entitled “Ponytail”, the non-fiction story of Rapinder “Rob” Sidhu, the rogue Mountie who became a drug dealer and eventually got caught in the United States and sentenced to eight years. He had approached me to write his story. The book was in fact completed, but the final version of the book, without going into too many details, did not meet Rob’s satisfaction. After several drafts, he was still demanding changes even though the book had already been sent to Canadian publishers. Rob felt that the story should be more a story of a “redemption” and not so much an examination of the reasons for his fall from grace which he felt portrayed him in a too negative light. In the end we agreed to disagree and concluded our legal co-author agreement.

Since then, Rob has now, rather quickly, written and self-published his very own book. His version of what he terms “leadership, accountability and resilience”, where he expounds on his philosophy of the “will to power”. The book is entitled “The Betrayal by Saints, Syndicates and Self”. where Rob states that the “job didn’t break me, the betrayal did”. As to the book, I have not read it so I will hold back any comment until I see a full version, but I felt the need to make it clear that I am not in any way associated to this book nor am I in a position to recommend it.

As I have almost reached my self-imposed work limit of 1500 words, I will sum up by saying it is good to be back, and as it turns out there just may be enough stories to write about both in the policing world and in the daily life of us all to keep both the reader and the writer interested. Thanks for hanging around, and thanks to those that encouraged the comeback. Until next time.

Photo Courtesy of free pic.com/photos Some Rights Reserved

Its Time to Move On…

Posted on November 13, 2024 by Pete Cross

I will admit to a little trepidation in composing this blog and sending the message it contains. The reason I am nervous is that I have decided that this will be my last blog under the banner of BehindtheYellowtape.ca.— that in other words, I will be closing down the web site.

This is a place which has been my writing home since 2017 and I will miss it. When I began this blog experiment I had serious doubts and questioned if I could transition from the world of policing and investigations and wander over to the left side of the brain. Could I entertain my creative side and explore the art of writing while at the same time speak to the policing issues of the day. In some ways, this site was both my therapy and my adventure. I felt the need to try and figure it out, so I took the leap.

It turns out it seemed to work out and now as I look back over these years I have written a blog roughly every two weeks; 168 blogs, totalling about 252,000 words (the equivalent of about two books). To be sure it was at times work and required a dedication and a daily time allotment. The “work” of writing was in itself mostly enjoyable and I even liked the required research that went along with it. So, I am not leaving and shutting down because of the work and the time commitment.

There are two basic reasons I am going to leave this platform; I would like the time to explore other writing possibilities and secondly I do believe that everything has a shelf life and I no longer feel that my writings have the same relevance to the topic as when it began.

This realization came gradually, as I traveled along the continuum of the work/life curve. With the passage of time, it became easier to see my growing distance away from the day to day of the police officer. Facts are facts. I have now been out of policing since November 2011 and now find myself firmly embedded in the “older” generation. The reality is that I now stand before you as a greying balding symbol of “old school” policing. The technology and the cultural changes as they advance are molding a different type of police officer; a police officer who is facing new and different challenges. The job hasn’t changed, just the way it is done. It is a proud profession and when you leave it and the retirement clock starts– at some point you need to come to the realization that your experience is not current enough to be relevant to the readers.

Of course, I could have continued to write and stick with some of the broader legal and investigative issues. However, I have already covered most of those broader issues, sometimes two and three times and at some point it tends to get repetitive. During this time I have for the most part steered clear of writing about issues such as pensions, dental plans, or veterans affairs claims, because if I am honest, those issues don’t keep my interest for very long. I have also refused to write about individual bitches and complaints forwarded to me by other officers, even though they may be of some interest. For the main reason that it is often difficult to sort out the objective truth from the subjective viewpoint in these often complicated and nuanced cases.

At the end of the day this blog has been read a couple of hundred thousand times and has even reached some readers in the far off portions of the world. Through the blog I have been able to re-connect with many distant friends some of whom I had not spoken with for decades and that has been one of the best outcomes of this whole endeavour.

There have been many that have commented on the blog and who have written to it. I have enjoyed it all. There are a core of dedicated readers and commentators who I have also enjoyed when they share their thoughts. You know who you are and I wish to thank all of you for paying attention and taking the time to read, whether you agreed or disagreed. In all those blogs and in all those years, believe it or not, there has been only four or five negative comments, which both encouraged me and made me feel that there was a silent majority for whom I was possibly giving a voice.

To be clear I am not going to stop writing. I will continue and hopefully some of it will surface on different platforms. I am also hoping that the quality of writing will continue to improve as I am very much still learning. It is indeed an art form that has a steep learning curve. I will also let you in on a bit of a secret. During the past two and a half years I have been writing a non-fiction book, which is now complete and in the process of being shlepped to a few literary agents. The hope is that it will provide an entry to the mainstream publishing world and on to someone’s bookshelf. The book is tentatively called “Ponytail” and it is the life story of Rapinder @Rob Sidhu, a member of the RCMP in Surrey and Vancouver, an officer who became infamous in his time–who ended up being a prolific drug trafficker, got caught by the Americans and served eight years in the American prison system. It was the early 2000’s when he became a real thorn in the side of the policing community of the time. For the book, I conducted over 200 hours of interviews with Rob, who has also personally contributed some of his writings for the book. It is a dark story, but one that needs to be told and will likely be of interest and be a lesson to many cops. Rob had reached out to me to write his story because he followed the blog.

I have also been working with a documentary film crew, examining the Jodi Hendrickson case, a 17 year old girl who went missing and presumed murdered in 2009. It was technically my last “murder case”. It has in turn exposed me to the world of film and film production and spurred an interest in screen-writing.

In other words, I will be o.k. and plan to stay busy.

Writing is a lonely endeavour and was often my solace in the difficult times, a place to escape, but also a place to go when feeling uplifted. I recommend the writing process to anyone, those hidden Hemingways that are out there, and maybe there is a younger version of a blog to come to speak to the issues of the day. In terms of the writing, I leave you with one last quote, this from writer Daphne Rose Kingman, “Holding on is believing there is only a past; letting go is knowing there is a future. “

Whether you are an active officer, a new recruit, or an old vet, my wish is the same, that you enjoy the best of what life has to offer in the years to come, and that you embrace all the various stages of life that are coming your way. Again, my deepest thanks.

Have a good shift.

Pete