RCMP – MASTER OF NONE

***Original published in South Mountain Press, December 21, 2018***

A RCMP Christmas

While most families will be enjoying themselves opening presents with the kids, visiting with relatives, and enjoying Christmas festive meals, many professions such as your local RCMP detachment will be running normal operations on Christmas Day.

Acting Corporal Paul Morissette of Elphinstone Detachment and Staff Sergeant Dave Porter of Shoal Lake Detachment kindly shared their experience when it comes to RCMP members celebrating Christmas.

Q. What is your police force history and how often have you worked Christmas Day?

A. A/Cpl Morissette has been a member of the RCMP since June, 2006 and over that time period has had approximately five Christmases off, three of which he took vacation time. S/Sgt Porter is a 31 year veteran of the force and has worked the majority of Christmas days.

Q. Many RCMP members are posted in from other provinces. How often do they get home for Christmas?

A. S/Sgt Porter is originally from New Brunswick and has not been back home for Christmas since 2012. Unlike the military which provides Christmas flights and monetary compensation for service members to visit next of kin, the RCMP does not provide any special compensation for Christmas travel back home. The time and expense of returning to the Maritimes with his wife and three kids has limited the S/Sgt’s Christmas visits.

Q. If you work Christmas, do you get New Year’s off or what sort of rotation happens?

A. If you work Christmas you may have News Year’s off, it depends on where your rotation on the schedule falls. This year A/Cpl Morissette has Christmas and New Year’s off. He believes that is only the second time in his career that it has worked out this way. They are currently on a rotation of five shifts on, and three days off over a nine week schedule. Over at the Shoal Lake Detachment, they are doing a seven on/seven off schedule that doesn’t change because of holidays.

Q. For the officers with children, especially young ones, how do you celebrate the day?

A. If you are scheduled to work on Christmas you are put on call, so that you can spend time with your family members. For those members that are single and who do not have family in the area, a fellow member will invite them into their home so that they are not alone over Christmas. Also, most single members are good for volunteering for a shift swap so that those officers with young families can be together.

Q. What sort of shift do you do for Christmas Day?

A. Our scheduled shifts don’t change over Christmas. We attend to calls for service as required. As a senior member, S/Sgt Porter will be available on call.

Q. Although a serious incident could happen at any time, how busy is the day for call outs and what are the normal incidents that you expect to see?

A. It is rare that we receive many calls on Christmas day, as most people are celebrating with loved ones. On a few occasions the detachments have responded to motor vehicle collisions, stranded motorists, and even domestic assaults when the subjects of complaint have had too many celebratory beverages.

Q. Is there anything special that you do at the station or in the community on the 25th?

A. There is nothing special that we do on the 25th at the station. Some of the members have attended a local Christmas supper, whether they are on or off duty.

Q. What is the size of the Xmas crew, does staffing change for the day?

A. Normally we have a skeleton crew on Christmas day, with our minimums as per our unit policy allows. If required there is usually additional members in the area that could be called out to assist if a major incident were to occur.

S/Sgt Porter would like to remind motorists to have alternate plans in place while they are celebrating the holiday season after enjoying alcoholic beverages or marijuana. The Holiday Checkstop Program will be running throughout the province checking for impaired drivers.

New as of December 18, a new Federal law comes into force which allows police to demand a breath sample from any driver they lawfully stop — not just if they suspect a driver has been drinking. In addition, although the Yellowhead detachments are still in the process of acquiring and implementing devices and training for marijuana use detection, they are still able to determine is a driver is drug impaired.

So while you are enjoying your presents and Christmas meals, give a little thanks to the dedicated professionals who are serving your community and helping to keep us all safe. Grandma won’t have to worry about help arriving if she gets run over by a reindeer.

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Doc displaying his ‘Indication’ upon finding human remains during a training exercise. Photo courtesy of Natasha Dilkie

RCMP HRD Dog – Innovative Research in Nova Scotia

(Original article published on RUSI(NS) website)

On May 10, 2017, as part of their Distinguished Speaker program, the Royal United Services Institute of Nova Scotia was privileged to arrange a presentation by Natasha Dilkie, MSc, titled “Human Remains Detection: Validity of Dog Training using Donated Human Remains in the Province of Nova Scotia.” The presentation was generously hosted by the RCMP at their “H” Division headquarters in Dartmouth and was well attended by RUSI(NS) members and guests including representatives of the Nova Scotia Medical Examiner Service (NSMES) and Halifax Regional Police.

In cooperation with the NSMES and the RCMP, Natasha is pioneering Canadian research in the field of human remains detection (HRD) dog training. They are not the first who have worked with HRD dogs, also known as cadaver dogs, as there are other Canadian organizations with them. But with the help of RCMP dog handler Constable Brian Veniot and a six year old German Shepherd named Doc, they are Canada’s first team to be trained on donated human remains through the NSMES procurement program.

Originally, Doc started his RCMP career at the Halifax airport sniffing for explosives. In 2014, he was picked for the new HRD program, spearheaded by NSMES, who had brought in the scientific and research expertise of Natasha. From the videos during the presentation, it is obvious that this remarkable dog is proficient at his work.

Doc as a fresh, young RCMP recruit. Photo courtesy of NS RCMP

As Natasha explained, other parts of the world such as the US or Europe have led the way with HRD/cadaver dog research and use for many years now. In the aftermath of 9/11, when the search and rescue canine units had done all that they could do, the cadaver dog units came in to help pinpoint human remains. These dogs are unsung heroes who provide grieving families with closure after the tragedy of losing a loved one. Although rare, a need for the same capability is required in Canada. Generally this task falls to specialized police units such as the RCMP Underwater Recovery Team or volunteer search and rescue organizations. Talented dogs like Doc would be another resource to enable these organizations to complete timely and safer recoveries of human remains.

The audience received an enlightening education on the amazing capabilities of these hard-working animals. Dogs in general have millions more scent receptors compared to a human. Some particular breeds like German Shepherds, Bloodhounds or Cocker Spaniels are even more suited as scent dogs due to temperament and agility, and are widely used for a variety of purposes by police, military and emergency agencies. Here are just some of the abilities of these dogs:

Research has shown that their scent sensitivity can be as high as parts per trillion.
A dog can retain the memory of a particular scent for up to four weeks.
Even if a body has been moved, a dog can pick up the scent many weeks later.
Properly trained dogs are adept at finding bodies no matter their location or state of decay. The only real limiting factor is extreme cold.
Even victims underwater can be detected. Some UK cadaver dogs have found human remains in depths of 30 feet!

If you did not have enough reasons to sign your Organ Donor’s card and talk to your family about your final wishes, Natasha gave us another one. Humans have a unique scent signature when they pass away that is difficult to synthesize and cannot be replicated with animal remains. Due to this, it is critical for HRD dogs to use actual human remains for training. To that end, after obtaining next-of-kin permission, many NS families and organ donors have generously consented to allow their remains to be used for this important research and training.

Natasha’s vision is to further her research and training to the point where protocols, procedures and HRD dog teams are available to every Canadian province and major police force. To that end she will continue to research and work with Constable Veniot and Doc, liaise with other HRD experts from around the world, and present her work to various stakeholder groups. She has already presented her findings to various Police Associations and is scheduled to do a poster presentation at the 2017 Toronto International Association of Forensic Sciences Conference.

More of Natasha Dilkie’s professional activities and HRD research can be accessed at her LinkedIn profile.

Blair’s LinkedIn Profile

Blair is a personification of a ‘Jack of All Trades and Master of None’. He has held several careers and has all the T-shirts. Time to add the title Blogger to the list.

Tag: RCMP

PRAIRIE SCRIBBLER – SOUTH MOUNTAIN PRESS, VOLUME 11, NUMBER 38 – Part 2

ANIMAL WRANGLER