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OpEd: We need to “Re-Fund” not “defund” police
September 21, 2020

Cries to defund police across North America are for the most part fuelled by people who will never be happy until police are unarmed; seldom seen; and let everyone do whatever they want, whenever they want. Valid concerns over the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis Police in May have spiraled to this ridiculous notion that all police are bad and that less of these evil beings would prevent such a tragedy from occurring in future.

Yes, police need to do better than they have in some cases, in some communities. There should never be any systemic or individual racism, or any excessive use of force, within any police department, anywhere.


Undoubtedly, “de-escalation” should always be the go-to response by police – as opposed to use of deadly force, where feasible. Police services must have strict policies regarding the use of force, including positional-asphyxia and carotid restraint issues, as well as kneeling on throats, so as to not kill people being arrested – unless as a last resort to protect the lives of innocent people.


I agree that in some instances, mental health professionals – either alone or in partnership with armed police officers, would be a better approach to wellness checks and non-violent mental health occurrences. That is of course with the knowledge that despite best efforts, some reported “non-violent” calls will become very violent in a heart-beat.


Police executives should always be assessing the environment and continually developing effective partnerships with other agencies, while making policy, training, staffing and deployment changes to best meet the policing needs of the community. Police budgets are forever going to be a huge issue for municipalities and Chiefs must always endeavor to meet those needs in a fiscally prudent way. They owe that to elected leaders and to their taxpayers.


But guess what? We have great police services in Canada! All of this and so much more has been in place for years across this country and is governed by legislation and oversight frameworks like no other profession.


Having said that, we have seen a number of poor decisions and occasional blatant criminal acts by police officers, so police services must constantly strive to be nothing less than the “best of the best”, and are obliged to do so within a reasonable fiscal envelope. That standard must continue for all eternity.


Many police budgets – including the provincial police forces and the RCMP, have been cut and slashed incessantly, despite emerging crime trends; increasing salaries; the growing threat of terrorism; rising equipment and technology costs; and protracted public protests that have at times grown violent and resource intensive. Some services struggle to staff their patrols. The Toronto Police Association continues to raise concerns about stacked calls; response times and officer safety issues. A number of services have taken officers from investigative units to fill uniformed patrol vacancies. Some OPP detachments that once deployed several officers on a shift are down to only a couple of constables on duty, because of budget shortfalls. That is ineffective and dangerous, especially in isolated communities that are many miles from backup. As well, a number of provincial investigative units are heavily challenged to meet their mandates in assisting other agencies.


A municipal police friend told me several years ago, that “At one time when we called the OPP for help with a major occurrence, it was like calling in the National Guard. They showed up in droves. Now they’d be lucky to be able to send us an officer or two.” I’m afraid that situation has worsened since.



The RCMP is in terrible shape. Their detachments in the contract policing provinces (i.e. Nova Scotia) are woefully short of personnel. In Ontario, the RCMP is no longer a major player in the organized crime investigation world. Through no fault of their members, National Security investigations are the priority and every man, woman and child investigator is assigned to those operations.

As a rule, when funds are cut, staffing suffers. When a personnel shortage occurs, prevention programs and training are often the first on the chopping block. Preventing victimization is one of the most important things police do, and training is critical to officer safety and to adequate and effective policing. But the reality is that the organizations have to be able to put officers in police cars.


Something has to give. Legitimate efforts by police leaders in civilianizing some roles; and deploying personnel and responding differently – in a data-driven way; while maximizing technology, continue. However there is often still a delta between the need for armed officers and staffing realities.


What are the broader impacts of the current state of policing on officer morale and wellness? The dialogue and focus on providing professional support to help police personnel deal with the impacts of singular occurrences or a career of responding to traumatic events has increased over the past several years. But working short-handed day after day while dealing with a constant barrage of criticism from armchair critics – some deserved and much not, does nothing to promote member wellness.


So is it an acceptable option to further cut police budgets because of the flexing of muscles by some community groups and further denigrate this already fearsome state of affairs? I think it’s a recipe for disaster.


Alternatively, we need to “re-fund” our police services back to appropriate levels to best meet community and officer safety needs, not further “defund” them. I truly believe the majority of reasonable citizens would prefer to see more but perhaps better police, than see fewer officers and even less effective police services.


In support of that, we also need to hear a much louder voice from the largely silent majority of people that truly do support their police services. They need to “defend” police, loud and clear.



I fear that if this lopsided “defund police” rhetoric and negativity continues to swirl, it will bring policing to the point that it will be all but impossible for police services to keep communities safe and healthy. The ability to attract good recruits and retain healthy police officers will continue to decline. There won’t be enough critical police mass to meet public safety needs and police services will be forced to have their phone numbers unlisted in order to operate within their funding envelopes.

The worst boss: Nightmare for some, reality for many

By Chris Lewis • June 21, 2025
Image: new-manager-training.com Imagine this scenario if you will, getting the worst boss on earth – a person who is the total antithesis of leadership. Your new “Boss” replaces a leader that wasn’t always right and was getting too old to meet the mental and physical demands of the job, but at the same time treated all those around him with respect. He tried to select people for key positions based on their experience base and his confidence that they may not always agree but the individuals picked would be honest with him, other employees and the client base. He undoubtedly made mistakes here and there and did have some flaws but would readily admit to most of them. This boss comes back to the organization having committed a list of publicly confirmed misdeeds and illegal acts – many of which would have singularly been a good reason to not hire even the lowest level of employee, and justification for imprisonment for others. However, he was chosen for the top job despite all that baggage. Conversely, he brings not one redeeming quality to the top position. From day one, it’s obvious that the new Boss is truly a “boss” and not a “leader.” He has old personal scores to settle and wreaks revenge on many employees that he doesn’t like. Not because they were dishonest, incapable or lazy, but because he perceives that they didn’t want him to return or didn’t always agree with his philosophies and rash actions during past affiliations. This activity causes panic among all employees who know they have no choice but to get aboard his out-of-control train or perish beneath it. Then – without any deep evaluation or thought, he makes tremendous cuts to many organizational programs – leaving thousands without work and lacking any strategy to provide much needed services to a vast array of client groups. He viciously cuts through the organization like a chainsaw through softwood. Why? Because he can. Some of these decisions may have had some degree of validity following a proper assessment, while others not, but that analysis never occurred. Most previous positive relationships with partner agencies and the majority of client groups are immediately scuttled by the new boss. He publicly demeans and taunts longtime allies with irrational statements and outright falsehoods. Never in the many decades of history of the organization has such broad-ranging international indignation been felt, largely as a result of his childish behavior. Very few productive relationships remain and although some new ones are developed, they are only with organizations that are poorly considered by clients and upstanding industry players. His decisions continually fly in the face of the needs of the immense client group but more align with the personal business interests of only the Boss and his business associates – some of whom are either known despots or of questionable character. Company stocks continue to plummet as a result of his silliness. That also has a significant negative impact on the fiscal picture of partner organizations around the world. Anyone that respectfully expresses disagreement or suggests alternative decisions to the Boss, are sidelined or fired, then are ridiculed and until they become unemployable. Gas-lighting, exaggerations, denials, the passing of blame and blatant lies are his norm. He seldom speaks the truth about anyone or any situation. The sycophants he has positioned to assist in his destruction of the organization, publicly praise him for his leadership and courageous decision-making, when the majority of employees and clients know it is just flagrant butt-kissing on their part. He constantly seeks and demands praise, even for things he didn’t do, then sulks and whines when he doesn’t receive it. He falsely takes credit for the few good things that do happen but quickly passes blame when things that have his fingerprints all over them, go horribly wrong. His God-complex is resounding and worsens with each passing day. His public claims of success – before and since becoming the Boss, and assertions of being the “Greatest Boss in history”, fall flat with anyone that truly knows him. He aggressively takes advantage of anyone he can but then turns on them at the flip of a switch. No one is beyond being found at the pointy end of his meanness stick. When caught making an error, he’ll blame everyone on his “team” before accepting any criticism. In fact, he’d turn on his own children if he felt it would make him look brave or heroic, or if it would prevent him from public humiliation. He states his 24/7 lies over and over so often to make his base of lemming followers believe him, that he seemingly believes them to be factual himself. Even when he is confronted with witness testimony or audio/video of his brazen lies, he blames others for being out to get him. Being accountable when things go wrong and letting the light shine on others when they go well, is beyond his comprehension. (Can you spell “narcissistic”?) Although he doesn’t understand the business, he refuses to surround himself with people that do, given that he thinks he knows more than any of them and possibly more than anybody, anywhere, ever, since the dawn of time. Public statements he makes are often completely ridiculous and childish, causing all those around him to force plastic smiles, offer him undeserved praise and nod like pre-programmed bobbleheads. People and even affiliated organizations live in such fear of his thirst for retribution that they either cow-tow to his insanity or prepare for annihilation. He is an embarrassment internally and externally, on an international scale. No past executive has even been so blatantly self-centered, mean spirited and/or inept, nor have they ever had such a negative impact on the organization and its people. It may take decades to repair all the damage he has done. Thankfully, his employment contract is only for four years, so there may be some light at the end of the tunnel. Most of those within and those reliant on the organization, as well as friends, associates, allies internationally pray that this nightmare will end at that time. If it’s not too late, that is. Just a bad dream for some or a reality for millions of us?

What did the PM’s most recent announcement on border security really mean?

By Chris Lewis • February 4, 2025
Is there any meat to this or is it more of the same?

What police don’t need during a crisis

By Chris Lewis • January 4, 2025
Police know how to conduct major investigations and find bad guys. Although several specific factors change from case to case, their general investigative playbook remains the same. Once some ungodly multi-victim attack occurs, in very simplistic terms: the scene is protected, and the health of the living victims is looked after. Forensic experts begin processing the crime scene. Witnesses are located and interviewed. Physical evidence is gathered. Area and witness video recordings are collected and analyzed. Victims are identified. An off-site reunification centre is established where there are multiple victims. Next of kin notifications begin. At any point – if a suspect or suspects become known, their background is gathered, and the hunt begins. They need to be apprehended before anyone else is hurt. Area law enforcement officers need to know suspect details ASAP. “Motive” is at top of mind as investigators are synthesizing all this information, whether the suspect is identified or not. Of course, establishing motive often leads to identifying the suspect, but at other times identifying the suspect helps fill in the blanks on motive. What was the initial basis of what became a murder? Was it a robbery? Could it have been a street fight gone bad? Was it simply a want or need to kill someone specific or maybe anyone at all? That’s for investigators to sort out. There is an onus to warn the public or at least tell them something, i.e. “ongoing threat”, “stay indoors”, or “no threat to public safety”. There are reporting protocols to follow. Senior officers need to be advised up the food chain as do their political masters, so everyone knows what is happening. None of that should detract investigators from doing what they do best – catching killers. But that’s when the ravenous “thirst for knowledge” and political grandstanding often take over and completely interfere with police work. The only knowledge the investigators are thirsty for in those early hours is evidence and then identifying, locating and capturing bad people. They do not need politics monopolizing their time or efforts. The New Years Day massacre in New Orleans was big. Fourteen innocent party goers were killed and dozens injured. The world wanted to know what happened and the community wanted to know if they were in danger. I absolutely get that. However, what sometimes comes with such tragedies is everyone wanting to know everything. We see it in most mass murder cases, but this was an exceptional example of the insanity surrounding such a high-profile incident. Whatever blanks weren’t immediately filled in by police officials and verified mainstream media reports, were filled in by social media. In such cases police totally lose control of the narrative as rumours, theories, falsities, conspiracy theories and “hey look at me” games take over. The political party and individual positioning in this case was nauseating. In any multi-agency response, having the leaders of those agencies at press conferences in a united front makes sense. The public needs to have confidence that the situation is in the best of hands. But where did these massive press conferences where police officials are flanked by numerous politicians come from? I can see some elected leaders being present when a new program is launched or government funding is being announced, but it should never be in the early hours of a mass murder. Having a bunch of partisan wonks peacocking on stage and in follow-up interviews, helps no one at the operational level. As some of them were speaking, I was responding to their dumb questions in my mind: Was it a terror attack? Maybe, but let the experts figure that out. In the meantime, it’s a mass murder. Was the killer an illegal immigrant? Let’s worry about that when the dust settles. What political party is to blame for allowing him into the country? We don’t care. Maybe he was born here. Let’s sort that out if he turns out to be an illegal immigrant. Why wasn’t the area more secure? Good question for a future debrief. We need to get the FBI and HSI leaders before a government committee right away so we can find out who failed! Shut up. We have police work to do. There are always enough social media theories, private citizens’ investigations into suspects, outright lies and misinformation being spread to the public, without silly partisan games sidetracking investigators who are fighting to stay ahead of legitimate theories and tips. In the early hours of a mass murder case investigators are probably the busiest they have ever been, and don’t need any of this interference. Controlling the social media fever is next to impossible. It would take a sudden level of maturity across the populace that may be unattainable. But politicians at all levels need to get the message that they are not welcome on stage at operational press conferences and their comments to the media – if asked for them – aside from expressing sadness, thoughts, prayers and confidence in the police, should be “Our law enforcement agencies are investigating, and we need to let them do what they do.” Adding any theories, raising questions or passing blame is totally wrong. If elected officials truly care about their electorate and feel the need to say more, they should have some prior dialogue with the police leaders or their Public Information Officers to ensure that what they say is helpful as opposed to harmful. Otherwise, be quiet.