From:
Al Macintyre
Date: April 8, 2020 at 13:40:15
PDT
Subject: RCMP in Surrey and Mayor McCallum
Subject: RCMP in Surrey and Mayor McCallum
I am
a retired RCMP member with 39 years experience. I have policed Surrey in
a command role, have been a past resident of Surrey and have also served with
the Delta Police Department. So I guess it is okay for me to have an
opinion on the topic.
I
served as the Surrey RCMP Operations Officer from July 1999 to July 2001 and
occasionally the Acting Officer in Charge of Surrey Detachment. Those
were back in the days when Mayor McCallum was Mayor the first time. You
know, before he was voted out.
We
had quite a ride of it back in the day when dealing with him. If the
walls could only speak.
I
have read and listened to his rhetoric and untruths about the RCMP and to this
point have remained silent.
In
Mcleans magazine, they note McCallum believes Surrey long ago outgrew the RCMP,
which has policed the city since 1951. He says residents are prepared to pay a
bit more for a municipal force, allowing enough officers who are fully invested
in the community to be hired and trained for urban policing.
Wow,
a bit more. That is an understatement and while the exact cost of the
transition is still not clear, I would urge City of Surrey residents to
persist in getting an accurate dollar figure from their Mayor and Council. The
devil will be in the details.
“The
RCMP are trained to do mostly rural policing in Canada. They still are
controlled by Ottawa.” (Doug McCallum). Another bogus statement and
those in Surrey have heard their past and current OIC's (Chiefs) comment on
this claim. The statement is further shown to be bovine skat in that if
McCallum thought the RCMP were not suited for municipal policing, why on earth
would he then be so intent and reliant on hiring as many RCMP members as he can
to create his own SPD?
Do
your homework folks and check the course training standard for the BC Justice
Institute Police Program against the RCMP Cadet Training Program Course
Training Standard. JIBC trains police officers for large and small
departments in BC, as does the RCMP for large and small detachments across
Canada.
I
have heard comments attributed to McCallum that he wants police officers who
are invested in and connected to the community. When I was in Surrey I
served on local boards of governance, my wife taught in the Surrey School District
and our kids went to school in Surrey and later worked in Surrey. When
little Heather Thomas was abducted in Cloverdale, where we lived, I was out on
my own time looking for her. Is that the connection or investment he was
looking for?
And
what about the several members of the RCMP who have given their lives while
serving the citizens of Surrey. Is that not invested or connected to the
community enough for the Mayor?
We
have heard figures of only 20% of VPD members live within the City of Vancouver.
Surely that does not make the other 80% not invested or connected. And
please don't get me wrong. This is not an us and they situation, but
rather about facts as they do matter.
I
have often wondered what it was that put the RCMP in McCallum's cross
hairs? I thought maybe it was related to a speeding ticket on the
Crescent Beach road where the the officer signed it with "Surrey RCMP
Traffic Section". McCallum directed the RCMP to close down the
traffic section and move them to other duties. The Chief of the day told
him that was not going to happen. McCallum persisted.
At
the time, the Surrey Traffic Section consisted of about 25 members engaged in
traffic enforcement and accident investigation. Not every police officer
likes doing traffic work, and it is important to have a component of your
police service engaged in directed traffic law enforcement. Mayor
McCallum did not agree. There was a small conference at about the same
time at the Guildford Sheraton. The main speaker was the Chief of Toronto
Metro Police, Julian Fantino. Mayor McCallum attended as a guest.
During a Q&A Mayor McCallum stood up and said that his Chief had guys
wasting time on traffic duty when they were needed elsewhere in his view.
Fantino responded...Mr. Mayor, traffic law enforcement is critical to a
policing service and integral to safe homes and safe communities and that he
did not agree with the Mayor's position. Mayor McCallum sat down and that
was the end of cancelling the traffic section.
We
sent out a press release one afternoon to the effect that there had been a very
bad injury MVA at the intersection of 184th and #10 Hwy and that traffic
was not moving. Mayor McCallum called over and asked what was
the purpose in sending out this negative to Surrey news release. It was
explained to him that it was to alert motorists via the media that traffic was
not moving and to stay clear and pick another route. He hung up.
Or
then there was the time his office called after a press release was issued about
a bad guy that was dangerous to the public peace and told us not to send those
out as it made Surrey look bad. We tried to explain the necessity in
warning the public and we continued to send them out. Yes, safe homes and safe
communities.
Maybe he remained mad over this debacle. If you do
some research, you will find that in 2000 or 2001, the following
unfolded. Mayor McCallum was at a sporting event in Surrey. Some
local seniors had parked in a manner in which access to a fire hydrant was
blocked. As we learned. a Surrey Bylaw Officer pulled up and was in the
process of ticketing the offending vehicles. As the story went, the
Mayor stepped in and openly challenged the Bylaw Officer and told him to
back down. A RCMP member was nearby. heard this and piped up that the
Mayor should leave the Bylaw Officer to do his job. There was some
verbal back and forth.
The RCMP member was so annoyed, he actually filed a self
generated police report. Further, he made a copy of the report in his
frustration and in while still in his uniform drove to the office of the Surrey
Now/Leader in his police car, walked in, said nothing and dropped a copy
of the report on the receptionist's desk. They published a story in the
newspaper and the Mayor was upset. He complained and we followed up at
our end and had to administer informal discipline to the RCMP
member for failing to safeguard a police report.
In our dealings with him back then, it was always about the
power. control and the ability to influence. There was a Public Safety
Committee, but in my view he just paid it lip service and gave directions and
exercised decisions from the hip either personally or via his CAO.
He
would sometimes come into Public Safety Committee meetings, stand there and
make statements and quasi directions and then leave. No decorum and no
discussion. The PSC Chairperson would just look over and shake her head.
He
must figure that when he has his hands on the entire police force as the Chair
of the Police Board that it will be all "sunshine, wide roads and shallow
ditches" with everything going his way. I truly believe he wants all
of the "launch codes" to himself.
VPD
have a big traffic unit...I wonder if SPD will as well (me laughing).
In
closing, attached are are a couple of pictures of the ceremony where the 50
years of RCMP policing Surrey was celebrated. I was the Acting OIC at
the time. The gentlemen in plain clothes were some of the original RCMP members
who worked that first shift on the night of the turnover from the old BCPP to
the RCMP. I am pretty sure those fellows were then and are still invested
and connected to the community they started with over 50 years prior.
Just
saying.
Alistair
Macintyre
RCMP
Assistant Commissioner (Retired)
