PROFILE: BEV BUSSON

Top cop

Bev Busson oversees the RCMP's Pacific Division and 5,000 officers engaged
in an ongoing fight against white collar and other crime

Mission derail the forces of organized crime in B.C. and the Yukon

Assets a combination of effort and hard-won qualifications that has won
admiration and success in a male-dominated field

Yield a focus on co-ordinated intelligence-based policing that has moved her
5,000-member RCMP Pacific Division to the forefront of North American crime
fighting

On her way to becoming the top Mountie in B.C. and the Yukon, Bev Busson
learned a thing or two about breaking new ground.

The cool-headed deputy commissioner of the largest division of the Royal
Canadian Mounted Police started early, when she enrolled in the RCMP's first
class for women in 1974.

And Busson's colleagues say she continues to blaze new trails today, most
notably for her role in spearheading the creation of Canada's first fully
integrated assessment of threats to society from crime, terrorism and other
security breaches.

"She's a person of 'firsts,' " said Inspector Wayne Holland, director of the
Criminal Intelligence Service of B.C. and the Yukon. "She has such a strong
reputation for hard work, being cool under fire and just totally worthy of
where she's got to be."

In her role as deputy commissioner of the RCMP's Pacific Division and
commanding officer of B.C. and the Yukon, Busson oversees over 5,000
officers, or about one-third of the country's entire force.

Given the historical challenges women have faced in policing, it's an
impressive accomplishment. But Holland said Busson's peers never question
whether gender played a role in her promotions.

"She's one of those special individuals everyone generally agrees has earned
all of her significant promotions through effort and qualifications," he
said.

Busson is cordial and no-nonsense during a recent interview in the RCMP's
Heather Street headquarters.

Pressed for information on the latest corporate scams and RCMP strategies
for tackling organized crime, Busson reveals few details except to say they
are "huge issues" and that organized crime is her top priority.

"Organized criminals will default to whatever the flavour of the month is,
where the money is, and now in B.C. it's grow-ops," said the 53-year-old.
"But it's not about marijuana. It's about the huge amounts of money, drugs,
concealed weapons and violence that happens around that activity."

She's strongly opposed to legalizing pot.

"It's our responsibility as a society to give signals to kids on what's
appropriate," she said.

She's also tackling white-collar crime in B.C.

To that end, Busson assigned Mounties to a new integrated market enforcement
team formed this spring to monitor the latest corporate scams and to work
with local businesses to stop problems before they start.

The group, which includes representatives from the B.C. Securities
Commission and Department of Justice, is working with big business to "let
them know we're there, actively investigating complaints, illegal procedures
or any suspicion of irregular procedures."

Cops here tackling white-collar crime spend most of their time investigating
high-level investment scams and fraudulent use of credentials by promoters.
"They are all new derivatives of the old games," Busson said

Originally from Nova Scotia, Busson graduated with a teaching degree at 23,
but when her classmates landed their first jobs, she was on her way to
Regina to attend the RCMP's six-month boot camp.

She entered teaching to make a difference, but decided to become a Mountie
the moment she heard the RCMP was opening its doors to women.

"If you're looking to make a mark on the world personally, the opportunities
the RCMP had to be a positive influence were incredible," said Busson.

During her first posting in Salmon Arm, B.C., Busson said locals were
shocked to see a female Mountie and often asked when her back-up would be
arriving.

After two years, she joined the undercover drug squad in the Okanagan
Valley.

She declined to talk about the experience, but said she loved it.

"You get to see in a way you never would how the criminal mind really
works."

After that she moved to homicide, sex crimes and then became a senior
constable in North Vancouver. Soon after, top brass selected Busson to enrol
in law school and become a lawyer.

Following her studies, Busson moved to Ottawa to work for the force's
internal affairs department, prosecuting RCMP officers.

She was later commissioned as an inspector, worked as a top cop in
Saskatchewan for three years, ran Vancouver's covert surveillance section
and was eventually promoted to the head position in B.C.

In 1996, Busson married another Mountie, now retired, who had two children,
and today they live in south Surrey.

Holland heads up one of Canada's nine Criminal Intelligence Bureau of Canada
offices. Their aim is to unite all agencies concerned with organized crime
and threat assessment. Each is administered by the RCMP and includes local
representatives from the Department of National Defence, Border Services,
local police forces, the Canadian Security Intelligence Services.

Holland said Busson's enthusiastic adoption of intelligence-led policing has
put B.C. at the forefront of North American crime fighting.

Prior to its institution, police forces in the province collected their own
data and used it to write annual threat assessment reports. They often
contradicted each other, relied on different sets of data and came to
contradictory conclusions.

"She decided everybody would work together this time," Holland said of
Busson's decision to integrate the process last year. "What could have been
a painful process was eased by her direction, and it was an enormous
success."

The groups now produce a single comprehensive national threat assessment
document using shared data and reports from the other eight CIB bureaus.

"She was part of that national vision and had the courage to support it,"
Holland said.