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Tuesday, January 2, 2018

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.!!!!!

15 comments:

  1. Thank heavens we have politicians like Matthew Green who possess the courage to unleash a one man crusade to strip Police of funding and authority, in an effort to restore dignity to "his people"

    The results speak for themselves.Green took office in 2014, and the City had just 7 shootings that year. Doubled to 14 in just one year, ballooned to 22 in 2016,with over 40 reported shootings in 2017.

    Green is responsible for creating the "negative narrative" directed toward Police, he has fostered division among the populace and has created a culture that jeopardizes public safety.

    Matthew Green for Mayor in 2018!
    We love you buddy!

    Monde

    ReplyDelete
  2. "Hamilton Police one of Country's best for matching community diversity"
    CBC Hamilton, 7/14/16

    2nd best overall,with Halifax earning top place (albeit a lower ratio)
    While there is always room for improvement, perspective should be tempered by reality.

    orangemike

    ReplyDelete
  3. What utter total drivel, ascribing the poor public image to the media. The significant number of bad apples in the barrel have unfortunately sullied the name of all officers. Look within!

    ReplyDelete
  4. "For those of you who think Police carding is over, I was just arbitrarily stopped...."
    Councilor Matthew Green, MGREENWARD3 Twitter account, 4/26/16

    I was intrigued by Councilor Greens complaint, and was fortunate enough to attend the hearing in it's entirety.

    Evidence presented at the hearing was both informative and alarming. Some of my takeaways:

    -there was no evidence presented that a "card" was ever employed during the interaction. Further, there was no evidence presented that Mr. Green had ever previously been "carded" or that any personal information pertaining to Mr. Green had ever been obtained, recorded, or stored improperly.
    -Green was never "stopped" by Police. By his own volition, he was already "stopped" standing alone, under a bridge, checking his phone. Green claimed he felt "psychologically detained"
    -Green's counsel appeared to absolve Pfeiffer of any malice in the matter, claiming the officer was acting "sub-consciously" and as part of a "systemic" cultural practice.
    -both sides agreed, the officer asked Councilor Green....."are you ok?"

    I believe Councilor Greens decision to politicize the interaction was misplaced, and that comparing this interaction to some of the injustices perpetrated by Police on visible minorities serves to undermine their validity and to tarnish his own credibility.

    For those of you who believe Councilor Green is politically biased, crusading without a mandate, there is an election pending.
    We can do better than this.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thanks for this Teresa et al. It was good to hear from Mr. Twolan. I think Mr. Twolan is asking for something that is unattainable given the bad apples that we hear about; particularly in the States. But here in Hamilton, some have not made the work of police any easier. And some have put the public at risk, with allegations that are difficult to believe or see as helpful.
    Sorce

    ReplyDelete
  6. Yes, there are clearly some who are fixated on race.

    Rimshot

    ReplyDelete
  7. The foregoing comments disparaging Green and making assumptions that race is not a factor should wait for the judgement of the police disciplinary hearing. There would not have been a hearing unless there were grounds for one. Don't blame Green, he is not the one that is running the hearing.
    Secondly, there is a general shooting of the mouth and disbelief when citizens make complaints about being wrongly treated. The OCPC just reviewed one complaint and the verdict in todays press is? .. The Board Chair prompted the OCPC complaint by going on the radio and suggesting the officer was charged "for doing his job."
    In a written statement Tuesday, he apologized to Green "and any other people who may have been offended by my remarks."

    "I would like to formally rescind the comments made on the radio show and look forward to returning to the Board and resuming my duties as Chair," he wrote.

    There you go .. there is poetic justice after all, but it takes making a complaint to get the ball rolling.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I blame Green exclusively. He filed the complaint, publicly declaring he was arbitrarily detained and carded.
      Neither happened, according to evidence I heard presented during the hearing.
      We'll see if Green apologizes.

      Delete
    2. the hearing will ultimately determine whether or not the interaction took too long to complete.
      That is the basis of the complaint.
      Despite the insinuations of some.
      Race has no bearing on the matter at hand, (except to those trying to further an agenda.)

      Honda

      Delete
  8. Councilor Green is a black man, born and raised in this City.
    He claims our Police are systemic racists, yet he is unable to provide a single example of personal experience that would confirm such a claim.
    You know, evidence.
    How is this possible? Something isn't adding up.

    We love you buddy.
    Matthew Green for Mayor in 2018

    orangemike

    ReplyDelete
  9. I've conducted some semi-scientific research on my neighbours here in Corktown, and based on the results, it is clear we do not want the Police in our community any longer.
    Who needs Police? We have hair dryers!
    Police are useless, they should only be for last lines of defence.

    Imagine if we could be exempted from Policing cost's (and roads too, don't need them either)

    A rediscovered Utopia.

    People-smart people-would flock to the Cork. We could put up a fence.

    Mike Stark

    ReplyDelete
  10. looks like Mayor Fred will have the deciding vote to determine PSB Chair Ferguson's future with the board.
    Decisions, decisions.

    Vote to return a Chair that has been reprimanded for misconduct? Lots of baggage there.

    or vote against, and convert a critical pro-LRT vote into sound second thoughts. Lloyd suddenly likes buses.

    What a tangled web we weave.

    ReplyDelete
  11. "do you know what we call opinion in the absence of evidence? We call it prejudice"#hamont
    Sam Merulla 01/18/18

    Monde

    ReplyDelete
  12. my favorite part?
    "psychological detention"

    hardeeharhar!

    orangemike

    ReplyDelete
  13. a close 2nd?
    Poziomka's suggestion officers racism is "sub-conscious" and must be judged not on their actions, but what they were thinking.
    And of course only Wade and Matthew know what Police are truly thinking.

    We love you buddy!

    orangemike

    ReplyDelete

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