b'WHAT I HAVE LEARNED IN MY WORK AT THE MUNK SCHOOLIS THAT UNCONVENTIONAL LINES OF INQUIRY PROVIDE MUCH-NEEDEDINSIGHT INTO WHAT WORKS, WHAT DOESNT WORK AND FOR WHOM.continuetobedebatedbysomeourpastmistakesandmissteps.ortherequisiteforpublicapproval whileviewedasabestpracticeWeallhavethem,professionallyandsecuringcooperationfromthe by others. and personally.public,andspecificallytomaintain Leaving the government to directTheoverlappingofthesepastimpartiality, which sounds strikingly aglobalpolicinginitiativeasaexperiences causes me to think aboutfamiliar to guarding ourselves against Distinguished Fellow with the Munkthe future of policing. In doing so, Ibias and discrimination; and certainly SchoolofGlobalAffairsandPublicwonderifitisstaringatusinthethe adage that public support dimin-Policy continues to provide me withmirror, be it the rear-view mirror orishes proportionately with the use of another unique perspective on poli- our side mirrors. physical force. I realize this is, to a cing. Working in the Global Justice Labdegree, elementary. But lets reflect with an array of international policeWhen I started policing more thansome more.services and governments brings with35 years ago, I believed then, as I doThe Road Travelledit a discipline of inquiry and diversitynow, that the purpose of policing is of thought. Information and data willto protect the weak from the strong.Inresponsetothedisproportionate always remain at the core of policingIfsomeoneisweakened,theycannumberofracializedpeoplebeing andcommunitysafety.Translatingbecomevulnerable.Vulnerabilitykilled by police, Ontarios government that into knowledge and wisdom forcanleadtodesperation.Nothingof the day set up the Race Relations thebenefitsoftheneighbourhoodshaschanged.Westillknowthatand Policing Task Force. The recom-and communities we serve is criticalthestrongweneedtoprotectmendations were many. They dealt to our collective success. What I haveagainst might be a gun-carrying gangwith police morale, use of force, gov-learnedinmyworkattheMunkmember or the evils of addiction. Iternance,oversight,training,hiring School is that unconventional lines ofcan be persistent homelessness or apractices, and equity-related matters. inquiry provide much-needed insighthistory of being abused. It can be aSound familiar? The year was 1989.into what works, what doesnt workthief and a murderer or people whoCriticismaboutthespeedwith and for whom. Some would say its afeel marginalized and forgotten. whichtherecommendationswere process for continuous improvement. First-principlescantakeustoabeingimplementedbecamequite Ihaverecentlyhadtheoppor- placewheresomeofthismakesloudandacrimonious.ARace tunitytostepintothebusinesssense,suchas(SirRobert)PeelsRelations Advisory was formed. The world. Whether it is as Chief StrategyPrinciples.Asanaside,historiansAdvisory came to fruition one month OfficerforNicheTechnologyoranote the actual authors were mostafterriotersinTorontoprotested boardmemberforanumberoflikelyCharlesRowanandRichardagainstwhattheybelievedtobe Canadianstart-upsandenterprises,Mayne,thejointCommissionersanti-Blackracismandpoliceuseof thevalueandmethodologiesofofthethen-newlyformedviolence. Complaints abounded about businessdevelopmentareclearMetropolitan Police.the Special Investigations Unit (SIU), and instructive.We are all familiar with nine princi- Peels Director, and the lack of crim-ples. They still ring true today, such asinalchargesagainstpolice.Sound A Means to Visioning the importance of citizens to take anfamiliar? The year was 1992.This brief description of my journeyinterest in their communitys welfare,There were other reports to follow. is purposeful. It provides an occasionwhichsoundsremarkedlyfamiliarJustices Kaufman and Campbell each to do as we all must do as leaderswith the Ontario Association of Chiefscontributedtomodernizingthe engageinmeaningfulreflectionofPolices(OACP)decadesofworkmethods and tools we now use for asameanstovisioning.Reflectiononcommunitypolicing,communitycriminal investigations. The inquiries is a necessary ingredient to chartingmobilization,communityengage- into the wrongful conviction of Guy our course. It allows us to think ofment, and now, as mentioned earlier,Paul Morin and the identified errors ourpastsuccessesandlearnfromcommunitysafetyandwell-being;duringtheinvestigationofPaulThe Official Publication of the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police17'