POLICE WORK MORE COSTLY, TIME CONSUMING

RCMP Assistant Commissioner Expresses Frustration With Cumbersome System

EDMONTON - When considering the challenges police face in the 21st
century, RCMP Assistant Commissioner Rob Knecht asks people to think
about what Noah would have to do if he were to build his ark today.

First, he'd need a building permit. And still his neighbours would
complain about the noise, and animal rights activists would accuse
him of mistreating God's creatures. All told, Knecht figures the job
would take Noah 10 years.

The same principle applies to policing, said Knecht, who spoke at the
17th annual meeting and conference of the Canadian Association of
Police Boards on Saturday. What used to be simple is now considerably
more complex, he said.

An officer in charge of criminal operations for Alberta, Knecht gave
an example: The time it takes to process an intoxicated driver has
stretched from 50 minutes 20 years ago to about four hours now, he said.

Investigating organized crime can take two or three years and cost
thousands, sometimes millions of dollars, Knecht said.

Disclosure is the "albatross around our necks," he said. Police are
required to disclose all aspects of their investigations to an
accused and defence attorneys, including whether wiretaps or
informants were used.

Knecht recalled one case that produced so much paperwork that it had
to be shipped to defence lawyers in several tractor-trailers.

"It is the police officer that is often on trial, instead of the
accused," Knecht said.

Accountability, another aspect of policing that has increased over
the decades, has brought several changes, among them a greater need
to be available to the media.

"There's an element of the police in almost every front-page story in
the major newspapers across the country," Knecht said.

"The media now functions in a 24/7 environment, and police do not,
especially in smaller towns. So we sat down with the media in
Edmonton and Calgary to discuss it."

As police accountability has increased, so have the lawsuits,
bringing more paperwork and budgetary strain. Knecht explained that
the number of lawsuits against the RCMP has gone down in Alberta in
recent years, but the money people are suing for has gone up.

Knecht emphasized the importance of integrated policing, where all
divisions of police work together. He said he had seen instances
where two different police forces had shown up at a stakeout or an
arrest for the same case, and better communication means that doesn't
happen anymore.

"Integration is working well," he said in his closing address. "We're
thinking about what we're doing, identifying the problem and
nullifying the problem."