Latest news with #policing
CTV News
11 hours ago
- General
- CTV News
New RCMP commander for New Brunswick hopes to be a leader in public safety through smarter policing
Matco Sirotic was recently sworn in as the new commanding officer of the New Brunswick RCMP. RCMP Assistant Commissioner Matco Sirotic was sworn in as the 32nd commanding officer of the Mounties in New Brunswick on May 6 after being named to the role in December. After his first few months in the role, Sirotic told CTV's Todd Battis there are many challenges but his goal is to make New Brunswick a leader in public safety across the country. He said communication with all the communities in his jurisdiction is one of the pillars of his vision. 'Everyone knows you can't police Moncton the exact same way that you would police, say, Campbellton, for example,' Sirotic said. 'I think the more engaged we are the more benefit we're going to see.' Sirotic said he hopes higher engagement will address frustrations among residents in rural New Brunswick who are dissatisfied with police. He said without additional resources he will focus on 'smarter policing.' 'By consulting thoroughly and making sure that what you've set up as your priorities are the public's priorities,' he said. 'It's also target policing. Intelligence level policing.' Police Planning Sirotic said he wants to leverage technology, including cameras and drones, for greater efficiency in policing but he is looking ahead to future developments. 'I can certainly anticipate that artificial intelligence is going to become a player and a significant component of what we do.' Border security is another issue of increased concern since Sirotic's appointment. He said he is working with his counterparts in other provinces to address the concern but so far, RCMP in New Brunswick have not been called on to reinforce the province's U.S. border. He said they have a dedicated unit for border integrity and because of their strong relationship with Canada Border Services Agency he doesn't expect border security will affect police services in the province. 'We're very, very close to the intelligence on this and we've observed nothing significant,' Sirotic said. 'Many other people are engaged as well if the influx ever becomes a problem.' RCMP across the country are also facing recruitment challenges. Sirotic said the organization should amend its ways to appeal to young people. 'We're really developing a new strategy to be in tune with the people that we want to bring to the organization.' Matco Sirotic Assistant Commissioner Matco Sirotic, the 32nd commanding officer of the RCMP in New Brunswick, is pictured. For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.
CBC
15 hours ago
- General
- CBC
Kativik Regional Government requests audit of Nunavik police
The Kativik Regional Government (KRG) has passed a resolution requesting an audit of the Nunavik Police Service. The resolution, passed Thursday, calls for a review of police operations and ways to make policing better reflect Inuit culture. The audit request follows two fatal police shootings in seven months — in Salluit in November, and Kangiqsualujjuaq earlier this month — the latter being the 16th police-related death in Nunavik since 2017. Police chief Jean-Pierre Larose said he is in full support of a review. "We are transparent and maybe [we need] somebody who thinks outside the box … to help us find solutions and improvements," he said. KRG is asking the Makivvik Corporation to help it find an auditor, who would report back to the council by fall 2025. Mylène Jaccoud, a professor of criminology at Université de Montréal, was in charge of Indigenous policing issues in the Viens Commission inquiry. That was launched in 2016 by the former provincial Liberal government after allegations of police misconduct against Indigenous women. She said the audit is a good step, though it should look at structural transformation of the policing model in Nunavik, rather than just the operations. She said the problems with the Nunavik Police Service are well-known and don't need further study. "We know that there is a problem of underfunding. We know that we are still waiting for the recognition of [Indigenous] police as an essential service," she said. "If we want to address this problem of the absence of Inuit police officers, it's absolutely necessary to change the policing model … a police [model] which is not oriented toward repression, but seen as a police who is very close to the communities that they share." The police chief however, doesn't believe the police model needs reform, and reiterated his pledge to implement every recommendation from investigations into the shooting in Salluit, once those final reports are presented. "Certainly we can improve it or adjust it, but right now we have positive results," Larose said. Community policing model Jaccoud said she doesn't believe the Nunavik Police Service is a truly autonomous Inuit police service — rather, that it's a southern-style team that happens to have oversight from KRG, the regional authority in Nunavik. "The majority of police officers are police officers from down south and I think that the change of governance should go to work on a real autonomous Inuit police service," she said. During the Viens Commission inquiry, she pitched — unsuccessfully — for a specific police school or training program for Indigenous police officers. Larose said the Nunavik Police Service is restarting a cadet program in a bid to recruit more Inuit, though he recognizes the challenges of Inuit policing Inuit communities. "They know everybody. They have relatives, cousins, parents and it's hard for them … and I understand they're kind of isolated from their community being a police officer. So we have to work on that," he said. In terms of solutions to how policing works in Nunavik, Jaccoud looks to other provinces for inspiration. Ontario has an inspector general of policing, who's tasked with ensuring policing regulations are followed, as well as a complaints agency. In several western provinces, there's the Hub model, which was pioneered in Prince Albert, Sask., in 2011. It's a multi-agency intervention that mobilizes social services for those in need before harm is done. "They just share information, they work together, they meet weekly, they plan together, action plans and appropriate intervention. That kind of model of policing is more oriented toward prevention than repression," she said. More funding in tripartite agreement Last month, the Nunavik Police Service received a five-fold increase in funding through a tripartite agreement between the KRG, Quebec and federal governments. The renewal of the agreement, from 2024 to 2029, is worth $562 million. Larose has previously spoken out about the lack of resources for the Nunavik Police Service. He said this new funding can help them bring on more officers and investigators, offer higher salaries to address staff retention, and provide more cultural awareness training. "I would like my police officers to get involved in the community, and families, at least two days per year to work with them, to go on the land, to do some activities with them, to better understand their lifestyle and their culture," he said. Another priority for him, he said, is expanding the mobile intervention model, currently in place in Puvirnituq, Que., which pairs police officers with social workers.
Yahoo
19 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
'Cash pressure forced PCSOs' 20:00 finish plan'
"Financial challenges" have forced the need for a consultation on police community support officers (PCSOs) finishing shifts by 20:00, a new police chief has admitted. Chief Constable Richard Cooper said West Mercia Police would be saving money on extra payment officers get when they work unsociable hours. Following a backlash over the plan by councillors in Shropshire last month, Mr Cooper stressed that if the consultation pans out, the same amount of PCSOs would still be working the same amount of hours. "Its not a case of do we need to save money, it's how do we save the money?," he told BBC Hereford & Worcester. "The cost of running the organisation is now stripping the funding available to us," he said, speaking on the mid-morning Hot Seat spot, on Thursday. "We've had to make some really difficult considerations. Our police staff and officers receive an unsociable hours payment for working into the evening and we need to save money." As chief constable Mr Cooper - who was appointed in March after working in the role temporarily since last August - is responsible for the delivery of operational policing across Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Shropshire. A caller on the programme's phone-in had asked about whether the PCSOs are needed later than 20:00. In response, Mr Cooper said many officers deal with anti-social behaviour issues, which generally "diminishes rapidly" by that time. "The data supports the fact the peak [for anti-social behaviour] is between 5 and 6. It starts dropping thereafter and stops dramatically after 8 o'clock," he explained. Follow BBC Hereford & Worcester on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram. Backlash over plan for no PCSOs after 8pm West Mercia Police
BBC News
20 hours ago
- Business
- BBC News
Chief constable defends West Mercia plan for no PCSOs after 20:00
"Financial challenges" have forced the need for a consultation on police community support officers (PCSOs) finishing shifts by 20:00, a new police chief has admitted. Chief Constable Richard Cooper said West Mercia Police would be saving money on extra payment officers get when they work unsociable hours. Following a backlash over the plan by councillors in Shropshire last month, Mr Cooper stressed that if the consultation pans out, the same amount of PCSOs would still be working the same amount of hours."Its not a case of do we need to save money, it's how do we save the money?," he told BBC Hereford & Worcester. "The cost of running the organisation is now stripping the funding available to us," he said, speaking on the mid-morning Hot Seat spot, on Thursday."We've had to make some really difficult considerations. Our police staff and officers receive an unsociable hours payment for working into the evening and we need to save money." Anti-social behaviour issues As chief constable Mr Cooper - who was appointed in March after working in the role temporarily since last August - is responsible for the delivery of operational policing across Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Shropshire. A caller on the programme's phone-in had asked about whether the PCSOs are needed later than 20:00. In response, Mr Cooper said many officers deal with anti-social behaviour issues, which generally "diminishes rapidly" by that time. "The data supports the fact the peak [for anti-social behaviour] is between 5 and 6. It starts dropping thereafter and stops dramatically after 8 o'clock," he explained. Follow BBC Hereford & Worcester on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Yahoo
20 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Minneapolis isn't sorry about George Floyd
I wish it was different. I wish that, five years after former Minneapolis Police officer Derick Chauvin murdered George Floyd on Memorial Day in 2020, the city could point to many, many things that have changed as a result of the outcry. I wish, five years after a global uprising and protest that started here, that Minneapolis was a different city, with better policing, better public safety, and in a better place on the city's long-standing racial inequality. I wish we could say that Minneapolis was sorry about George Floyd's murder and that we worked quickly—and then consistently continued to work—to address the systemic problems of policing and race, of neighborhood gaps in development and opportunities, of media narratives that whitewash many of those problems. I wish we could say the city rose to the moment, changed things, and became a leading example of how to address police violence for the rest of the country. But Minneapolis hasn't changed, and Minneapolis isn't sorry. Is the city different five years later? Absolutely. But not when it comes to the liberal underpinnings that defined, and in many ways still do define, Minnesota as 'The Jim Crow of the North.' And certainly not enough to prove that anything has changed. In different ways, residents of Minneapolis put in work after the civil unrest. There was a very brief time, immediately after the protests and violent police response, when vibrant murals decorated the boards covering destroyed buildings, neighbors connected for new attempts at mutual aid networks, and flowers and tributes filled the now historic site at Chicago & 38th. Even the most cynical people in Minneapolis tried to look at the potential future for the city where George Floyd was murdered, and everyone from state and national politics, to news media, to hometown corporations jumped to make new pledges to do better for Black and other marginalized residents. But like many rebellions in fiction and reality, the empire swiftly struck back at attempts for change, and much of the city fell in line. People working towards change quickly saw that white fragility's fury and retribution are as systemic as they are individualistic. Minneapolis leadership and their backers immediately did their own work to support the police department, while many officers coordinated en masse to retire with claims of PTSD—or 'medical' as they sometimes code to astounding 144 MPD officers were given settlements totaling over $22.2 million, even officers with previous records of misconduct. These same leaders used different parts of city bureaucracy, like the Minneapolis Charter Commission, to entangle the process of police reform, and they also used large sums of money to fund a local Political Action Committee that spread disinformation about the reform. 'Defund the Police,' they argued, somehow meant the metro would descend into lawlessness overnight. It's no wonder that national conservative groups have continued to amplify and expand the fear-mongering message, and it's no wonder that, years after the civil unrest, many still claim that Minneapolis defunded the police, despite the MPD budget for 2025 being double that of 2014. By the time the next city election took place in 2021, the political push not only meant that the police department didn't change, but the mayor in office didn't change, and Minneapolis voted to pass a city amendment that the city council who called for reforms would have less authority, too. Four years later, the same PAC still remains a big driver of local politics and elections. Even more, the revelations of the MPD's years of egregious behavior, inarguably revealed in a federal Department of Justice report and a state Department of Human Rights report which lead to two separate consent decrees to try and force sweeping changes (that is until President Trump rescinded the federal decree this week, leaving the state decree), have proven to hold enough importance to be anything but occasional talking points for local politics through the past few years. Case in point: City Council candidate Soren Stevenson was shot in the face by a non-lethal round when police escalated violence during the protests; Stevenson lost an eye as a result, and the officer who shot him was never disciplined and is still on the force. Many of the corporations that made swift commitments for new hires and funding for BIPOC causes used the opportunity to simply reallocate some existing funding for arts and culture organizations and events. These same businesses are now using their DEI rollbacks to eliminate most of their corporate giving entirely. Many people have pointed out the fact that Target commissioned murals featuring power fists on their Lake Street location, which was looted during the riots, that starkly contrast with the company's public rollback of its DEI initiatives. The regional news media, themselves targets of some uprising protests, made some long-overdue diversity hires and briefly wondered aloud if they should take everything that the police force says as unquestionable facts—reporters did, after all, originally take the MPD's report that Floyd's death was simply a 'medical incident' and moved on from the story until the video began to spread across social media—have since been a staunch ally in the routing of meaningful reform, with skewed both-sides coverage and commentary. Their ramp-up of stories and angles for the anniversary of Floyd's murder highlights the sensational nature of their current coverage and the lack of change in day-to-day reporting. The former police chief just last week made the rounds of local news to push his new book, unironically entitled 'Securing Justice for the Murder of George Floyd,' with little pushback. The current police chief now routinely receives similar coverage without pushback, even going so far as to say, without rebuke in a recent press event, that police are the ones who are 'starting to heal, it's been a long five years.' My kids were really little when the ash from the burned-down Minneapolis Police Third Precinct floated into our yard down the street. They've now doubled in age, but while they've changed over and over, year after year, the city around them hasn't. I wish we could point to a reformed police force, but the only significant changes in Minneapolis policing are that the number of employed officers is at a record low, that more and more people (not just BIPOC residents) are sharing stories of officers with chips on their shoulders, and that the city is still returning to earlier lower levels of crime. I wish we could point to a new robust corner of Minnehaha and Lake Street where the condemned Third Precinct still blights the corner, but we can't. Barricades still remain, even though a new wrap was just put up on the chain link fence. I wish we could point to George Floyd Square as both a place of commemoration of what happened and the history, but also as a place to show the city's change in direction. But we can't. Community members are the only ones who have been stewarding the historic site of George Floyd Square, a grassroots site that regularly receives visitors from all over the country who make the pilgrimage to see another ground zero in the push for—and against—modern civil rights. It's one thing to say sorry. It's another thing to be sorry and move forward with changes. And Minneapolis has done neither.
