With Clint Twolan-President of the Hamilton Police Association

         Clint Twolan

In the past The Hamiltonian has had as our guests the current Chief of Police, the former Chief of Police and many other representatives from the Hamilton Police Service. We thought we'd kick off 2018 with an interview with Clint Twolan, President of the Hamilton Police Association. Enjoy our chat with Clint.

1. In general terms, can you describe the relationship between the Police Association and Police executives/management? How may have this relationship changed over the last five years?

The relationship between the Association and the Services’ management team has improved in the past 2 years. When you have two parties that have conflicting priorities, you are always bound to encounter disagreement. Ultimately I believe the Association and the Service have three common focuses; the citizens of Hamilton, members of the Hamilton Police Service and the Police Service itself. Where our opinions and mandate differ is the priority we place on these commonalities and, at times, the path we take to achieve our goals.

The relationship has evolved in the past 5 years and I am hoping that we can continue to find ways to reach our goals in a collaborative way.

2. What are some of the more difficult issues that the police association is struggling with. Why are they important, and what would you wish the outcome to be.

Hamilton is a unique City in that we have a variety of policing issues. The result is a need for appropriate staffing and in most cases, higher staffing than other jurisdictions. Despite this, Hamilton remains low on the number of police officers on a per capita basis. Hamilton also remains below average on the per capita cost of policing. Striking that balance of cost and community safety is always a challenge for the Chief of Police and their command staff and is something that the Association understands. Still, our focus is on the safety of our officers and their ability to provide the service our citizens deserve. In order to continue this level of service, without question, we require more police officers. The Association’s position is that we are understaffed and have reached a critical point that must be addressed.

3. Body cams are something that are being considered. Understanding that the cost is at issue, what might be the other factors that Officers may need to concern themselves about when wearing such equipment. Can you speak to our readers about the pros and cons of this technology, from your members’ point of view. Do you think body cams are a good idea, if the cost issue can be sorted?

I am confident that body cameras would ultimately help our officers and our community. Video would demonstrate that our members are professionals and that they endure difficult working conditions every day. Cost is such an important factor in that the money required for a body camera program could be used elsewhere in the budget. Administrative time required for officers as it relates to the cameras is a significant issue when you consider the current demand that police be increasingly efficient with resources. Downloading data, reviewing footage and repairs are examples of time that officers would be unavailable to perform their core function; keeping Hamilton safe. Video can be a piece of information that provides insight, but it lacks the context of a situation. The most important pieces of information come from the subjective interpretation of an event from the participants. Finally, there are no definitive studies which illustrate that a body camera program is a responsible financial investment that results in an increase in public safety or public confidence.

4. If you could change one thing about how things are today, on behalf of your members, what would that be and why?

I would like to change the biased and politically motivated portrayal of police officers in the mainstream media today. Society has always been fascinated by the policing profession and this is reflected in the amount of exposure the profession receives. Anti-police groups, and in some cases politicians, have created such a negative narrative toward the profession and influenced policy that I feel it is beginning to jeopardize public safety. It is creating a significant wellness issue with all police officers across the continent which is destructive to morale and job satisfaction.

5. Do you believe that the police services has had enough training on systemic racism and racism in more general terms?

I know that the Service takes these issues very seriously and takes steps to prevent it. Keep in mind that all training in the Hamilton Police Service is ongoing and in many cases repetitive. That is why I would never say that my members have had ‘enough’ training. Instead it is an ongoing strategy to address human nature, no matter what community you come from. When issues involving race come to light, they are best dealt with through productive discussion and a collaborative approach in developing strategies to address those issues.

6. Unfortunately, the service as a whole has not reached a point where it can claim to proportionally be reflective of Hamilton'’s diversity. While this may be a greater consideration for management, do you have any thoughts on this topic?

The Association is highly supportive of our Service recruiting members that are representative of the community we police. This only increases our success of relating to the members of the public we serve every day. This process does take time and I am confident the Service will reach proportional representation in the future. Of importance is the fact that our citizens invest significantly in police officers and thus recruit selection is the most fundamental step to creating a competent, professional organization.

7. Do you have any stats with respect to how many grievances have been launched over the course of the last 5 years to date? If so, can you share those numbers and can you share any corresponding outcomes (ie: settled in favour of the member(s), settled in favour of the employer, or any other way you categorize these outcomes). Note- we are not asking for personal information Only aggregate data.

I do not have specific data that I can share. What I can say is that neither the Association, nor the Service, want to go through the formal grievance process to resolve differences.

8. Is there anything else you’d like our readers to know about the association?

The Association is a body that protects all members of the Hamilton Police Service, both civilian and sworn. Many people are not aware that the Labour Relations Act and the Employment Standards Act do not apply Police Officers. We rely on the Police Services Act and our ability to protect Police Officers who are performing a very difficult job. Police Officers and our civilians are human beings who are exposed to significant trauma, public criticism, and greater stress during careers that span for 30 years or more. This impacts these people and their families in ways that most jobs do not affect the average person. Our Association is the safe guard for hindsight bias that these officers and civilians face every day when they make split decisions in the ultimate high-stress situations with the best tools and training they have at that moment.

Thanks Clint for reaching out to Hamiltonians via The Hamiltonian.

And Happy New Year to all of our readers.!!!!!