Thank you to the New Wark Times for the following article:
Local Sackville citizens know that our last municipal police force was corrupt (i.e., kids of officers selling drugs to youth). Bambi heard this in 2008 when she first moved to our town and kept hearing it by different local people over the years.
The story above played a role into the decision to bring the RCMP police to Sackville, NB.
In other municipalities (e.g., Miramichi in NB and Amherst, NS), municipal police forces also do an excellent job, just like our RCMP here in Sackville.
For instance, Bambi knows women who have been protected in stories of domestic violence. She also knows women and men who benefited from the security provided by local police. Security/support that has been inspiring to witness, especially in times where we have heard about RCMP-related tragedies in the media ☹ . Luckily, all of them are being investigated, in addition to the federal parliamentary committee looking into allegations of “systemic racism”.
Thanks to the RCMP in our town, some foster children/youth have had the wonderful opportunity to get a training in baby sitting, with local youth. For everyone, and especially to youth at risk, it is necessary to have positive role models in life. We are lucky to have devoted officers in our community.
NB youth at risk elsewhere in our province (e.g., Miramichi Police Force) also benefit from community programs such as the ‘Kids “N” Kops’, which is “a joint initiative of Big Brothers/Big Sisters and the Miramichi Police Force and has been held each summer for 14 years”. As a clinician, researcher, and foster parent, Bambi has collaborated with police services, in the context of youth with disruptive behaviour, in more than on jurisdiction, including NB, and she is impressed by the latter:
To come back to the RCMP, what Bambi likes about our federal police is that its mandate is just for 5 years in each location across our country.
The above, although tough when we want to build a family, is meant to help prevent local corruption. It would be perhaps informative to assess this aspect of the policing job. Bambi does not know if this has been officially conducted. If so, what can we learn from the data?
We surely need to investigate all the tragic stories by RCMP and/or other police forces, including the NS tragedy nearby ☹ and, of course, each of the latest tragic cases in NB. Luckily, this is being done by an independent entity. Best wishes for answers fast as families, communities, police force, municipalities (and all of us!) deserve the truth, for closure and to efficiently prevent similar tragedies in the future.
In sum, in NB, Bambi had AN EXCELLENT police service, as a citizen AND as a foster parent. Some stories could have turned into sad end results or even into tragedies (including violent ones). Thanks to our RCMP, everyone involved was safe and sound.
This is why, according to Bambi (citizen, foster parent), the decision to bring the RCMP to Sackville was and keeps being a wise decision. Personally, she hopes we will keep benefiting from having the RCMP in our town!
