Vol. 80, No. 1Editorial message

Two police officers speak to a man in dense forest.

Making a difference

Credit: Pascal Milette, RCMP

By

When we asked RCMP employees to send us examples of great police work for this issue, we weren't sure what we'd receive. But much like the variety of police work itself, our cover section is filled with an incredible diversity of stories about employees across the country who are working hard to make a difference in their communities.

For our cover, Deidre Seiden spoke to RCMP officers in Quebec who were on the front line of a mass influx of migrants seeking asylum along the Canada–U.S. border last summer. Aside from adeptly managing the sheer volume of people, read about how officers struck a delicate balance between enforcing the border laws and showing compassion in a difficult situation.

Seiden also looks at the rapid rise of police-reported hate crimes against Muslim Canadians, which has left the community on edge. But in British Columbia, a hate crime unit is reaching out to the community, attending mosques and Muslim prayer centres to let them know that police can help.

Our Q&A also features an employee who makes people in his community feel safe. Auxiliary Michael Dally in Oceanside, B.C., works with seniors who are victims of a break and enter. He helps them secure their homes and give them back their confidence.

Catching a prolific offender of property crime can save hours of police work — and victimization — down the road. In the case of graffiti vandalism, it can prevent tens of thousands of dollars in clean-up. Amelia Thatcher spoke to a constable in Moncton whose persistence paid off not only in identifying a prolific tagger, but getting the evidence needed to get 64 counts of charges against him.

Patience and understanding are key factors when looking for a child or a person who's gone missing, especially when that person has autism. Two cases in New Brunswick demonstrate the extra care and attention that police used to successfully find and put at ease two young people on the autism spectrum when they went missing in dense, isolated bush.

Thatcher also describes in exciting detail two rescue missions on water. In the first, RCMP officers in Alberta reacted quickly as a team to save the life of a woman who was drowning. In our second story, officers patrolling the waters between Ontario and Minnesota saved two fishermen who had been stranded on a remote island.

We also share three submissions from employees who wanted to shed light on the great work of their colleagues. These stories show outstanding teamwork, tenacity and compassion.

Qualities like these are the focus of our panel discussion. We asked RCMP employees in a wide range of fields to identify the personal qualities that they think most lead to outstanding results.

Finally, during our research for this issue, we heard from employees who wanted only to shine the spotlight on others. One constable said his work paled in comparison to his colleague's more difficult, more courageous life-saving efforts. But as I explained to him, it's all great work. We think you'll agree.

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