Frontline Policing Panel

Question 1

Describing police in 1 word?

Answer 1

• Asmakaya (Coquitlam RCMP): Exciting due to sudden shifts in levels of activity & unpredictability
• Scurrah (VPD): Dichotomous b/c expectations of police are very high & often contradictory
• Pope (North Van RCMP): Astounding; can feel detached due to nature of the job

Question 2

Main reason for becoming police officer amongst panelists?

Answer 2

2 of the 3 (Pope & Scurrah) wanted to be cops since childhood; Asmakaya wanted to do CBSA/policing and joined the army reserves straight out of high school

Question 3

Family & friends’ reactions?

Answer 3

• Asmakaya: Family = supportive; became more worried after he had been on the job for a while
• Scurrah: Father was not supportive of job but supportive of son’s desire to do whatever he wanted; mother was extremely worried
• Pope: Did not tell friends right away due to fear of rxns; mom = displeased, father = supportive; lost some friends after revealing application

Question 4

Opinions on patrol work?

Answer 4

Each agreed that responding to criminal in-progress calls = most exciting/’fun’; rewarding when task is done

Question 5

Challenges of patrol work?

Answer 5

• Pope: Very little support for mental health + substance abuse; resources don’t exist as politicians divert funds towards housing; feels as if constables don’t have a voice
• Scurrah: Changing gears b/t crimes is difficult (i.e. having to deal with a suicide and a purse theft within the same hour)
• Asmakaya: Post-COVID, the mentioned challenges have worsened; short-staffing problems; increases in violent crime

Question 6

Most common calls for service?

Answer 6

• Asmakaya: Complaints about homeless people & mentally ill people
• Scurrah: Thefts; unwanted people loitering
• Pope: Property crime, much of which stems from addiction & mental health

Question 7

How do social issues manifest in police work?

Answer 7

• Pope: Lack of government support for mental health and addiction resources (i.e. Riverview Hospital being shut down, therefore patients were pushed out)
• Scurrah: Market in DTES is essentially black market where ppl can sell stolen goods
• Asmakaya: Large homeless shelter in Coquitlam still leads to a lot of crime (i.e. stealing, loitering)

Question 8

% of calls related to mental health & addiction (not related to crime)?

Answer 8

• Pope: 77%
• Scurrah: Official VPD figure = 33%; personal estimate = 85%
• Asmakaya: 80-90%

Question 9

Misconceptions of police?

Answer 9

• Scurrah: Ppl expect police can solve all societal problems, when in reality they are not equipped to deal with all those issues
• Asmakaya: Public thinks police don’t consider mental health & addiction issues and only resort to use of force
• Pope: Media pushes certain rhetoric regarding police; incidents where officers aid in positive, non-violent manners are not sensationalized/talked about

Question 10

Managing fear of risk on the job?

Answer 10

Officers stated that they have to swallow fear on the job as they cannot afford to freeze; much of processing fear comes after work or after encounters have already played out