The View from the Steps

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On October 18, 1988, I stood on the concrete steps of Vancouver City Hall, looking down at hundreds of police officers, as nearby media took notes and filmed. I spoke as a police union President, asking city council for suitable wages to protect an institution that the public trusted implicitly. At that moment in my career with the Vancouver Police Department, the line between right and wrong was distinct, and the purpose of modern policing was understood and supported by the communities we protected. But over the decades that followed, the ground beneath our feet shifted. Today, if you look at the landscape of law enforcement across our cities, that visible, resolute clarity of policing feels increasingly absent. The absolute trust of the police and faith in its leaders are gone, and with it, the sense of public safety. Since that image was taken, external interference of policing undermined the command structure and professional independence. Regrettably, police leadership forfeited the helm.

 

The Crisis of Command

 

This book is unapologetically pro-law-and-order. It is rooted in a deep belief in the success, necessity, and nobility of policing. Yet, to defend the profession, we must be brutally honest about why it is on a troubling trajectory – and what it means for public safety on our streets and in our homes. The situation is not an accident, but the direct result of a systemic drift. Policing is suffering from a dysfunctional, fragmented organizational structure, a lack of professional ownership, and an underdeveloped leadership culture. But the issues are not entirely internal. Outside the walls, the police profession is being squeezed by a perfect storm of external forces:

• Persistent political interference from officials chasing short-term agendas.

• Media distortion that shapes public narrative long before the facts surface.

• Aggressive, self-interested oversight bodies that paralyze active policing.

• A legal system that often prioritizes vague concepts over public safety.

The result of this storm is frontline officers feeling abandoned, the public feeling unsafe, and government bureaucrats remaining insulated from the realities of the street.

 

Righting the Course

 

The ship is drifting, but it has not yet sunk.The pages that follow contain stories that unpack the key problems. Drawing from lessons learned throughout a career spanning frontline work, formal training, and academic study, this book then outlines a positive path forward. We can rebuild the police organization, leadership, oversight, and professionalism. The blueprint is here. It’s a plan the police, politicians and the public need to embrace. The question is whether our police leaders dare to take the helm back, and the government has the wisdom to let them.

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To find out how to rebuild a profession under fire,

read The Forfeited Helm today.

​​​​For a copy, press the PDF button below:​

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