LAWLESS LAWMEN LUDICROUS

When is a thief not a thief? Evidently when he is a cop playing at being a
thief while intent on catching a thief. How else to interpret the resolution
Canada's chiefs of police drafted last month in St. John, N.B.? The
resolution asked the federal minister of justice to permit police officers
to break the law under certain circumstances ... or as Winnipeg's Chief Jack
Ewatski put it, "perform acts that contravene the Criminal Code."

What acts would that be?

This smacks of 007 stuff. Licence to ... certainly not kill, but to ...
what? Lie, steal, cheat, assault ... ?

According to Ewatski, police are not looking for permission to break the law
whenever they please; moreover, officers who didn't toe the line would be
off the force.

What and where would that line be? And who gets to decide if an officer has
stepped over it ... wherever it may be?

"We're not talking about breaking the law willy-nilly here ... " said
Ewatski when he talked to the Sun last week.

Just what are we talking about here, Chief? Breaking the law once a week per
officer? Contravening the Criminal Code every other Thursday? And how many
times does an officer get to walk on the shady side of the law before he or
she is questioned?

"If a member of the service is convicted of a criminal offence that person
should no longer have the privilege of being a police officer," Ewatski said
earlier this year.

What criminal offences are we talking about -- sanctioned or unsanctioned?
Does the fact an officer is undercover or is in the midst of a criminal
investigation excuse his contravention of the Criminal Code?

When do the ends justify the means and how far should the police be
permitted to stretch the concept of expediency?

The chiefs of police in St. John contended the ability to wage a better war
on drugs justified the resolution. We question that contention.

There are far too many questions here and far too few answers. There is also
great danger that giving the police a bag full of dirty tricks may send some
police officers in a headlong rush down some slippery slope into a morass of
corruption.

But Ewatski insists the institutional checks and balances in effect during a
criminal investigation would ensure officers do not abuse the system.

Would that be the same ones that saw a 34% rise last year in public
complaints against the police in Winnipeg?

The Law Enforcement Review Agency reported there were 167 viable complaints
against the police in 1999 as compared with 141 in 1998. Until we are given
good solid answers to all of these questions, we cannot bring ourselves to
endorse the idea of the police being given the official right to break the
law.