Police and management: Not everyone in uniform is a cop

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 02/08/2024 (444 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

“But he wears a uniform.” These were the words of a learned friend in reference to the Winnipeg chief of police.

We were discussing those who actually endear themselves to a profession, and I mentioned teachers, and opined how it is those who truly dedicate the prime of their lives to the education of our children who earn the title of “teacher.” (RIP Mr. Hoyak, who had 37 years of teaching service)

Not, say, those who leave teaching to spend the bulk of their career in the education bureaucracy.

Or some politician who taught for a couple of years then went on to something else for the next several decades.

My friend’s comment, however, inferred that it must be different in policing, the chief’s uniform signifying an essence of congruity, of shared hardships in the service.

In all likelihood, his comment was merely good-natured banter; knowing policing is not entirely unlike teaching, and it is upon the backs of others that the “heavy” work will ultimately fall.

Therefore the chief’s uniform was essentially illusory, certainly of shared hardships.

But suppose there is a genuine misconception about the nature of the police service?

And especially of those who wear the white uniform shirt of the chief and upper management.

So although it’s been several years since retirement, I can’t avoid being reminded of service.

I recalled the only Manitoba Association of Chiefs of Police meetings I attended in 2021, and Winnipeg Chief Danny Smyth in his opening oratory referred to himself and the other attendees as “us cops.”

There were smiles, nods and chuckling in response to his commentary, but I was seething.

“Us” cops?

There were few if any cops in attendance among those in uniform I recognized, with most wearing the white shirt of management.

Some may have been cops earlier in their career, but they left that, and the real cops were out taking calls, doing the heavy work, and wearing the dark blue uniform shirt.

“Cop” is a term of endearment, and is a sobriquet that is earned, not unlike “teacher.”

So not everyone in uniform is a cop, or has been one.

Having spent over 30 years in uniform patrol mostly downtown, I think I know what a cop is.

And being hired prior to most if not all those WPS officers present, including the chief, I had some idea of the various “career paths.”

Invariably, they chose to leave cop work, are not chosen to leave it, and willingly gave up any pretense to that identity.

Everyone essentially starts off in uniform patrol, and some will invariably move into other aspects of policing, including management, which is achieved by promotion.

In my experience, promotion has little if anything to do with prowess in policing, or even management skills, but rather an achievement in the promotion process.

Fortunately, many who are promoted are suited to the task, and embrace the responsibilities of rank.

It is however ironic that the further away from the dangers of policing an officer gets – typically through promotion – the more those officers get paid.

And are decisions the chief or upper management makes more dangerous than patrol officers (cops) defending themselves against a violent 350-pound male?

We’re talking pre-Taser era, not that it would have helped, and it was a relatively innocuous “check well being” call of the type some advocate sending social workers to instead of police.

Or are the decisions harder than running up multiple stairs in response to the sounds of a woman screaming, who is being beaten, and then kicking in the door and fighting her assailant?

Or more difficult than being faced with a shoot-don’t shoot scenario involving someone attacking people with a machete?

And in none of these instances, or in thousands of other incidents, do I recall thinking of anything anyone in upper management said.

What mattered was what veteran cops taught me (most were constables but a few were promoted).

The chief chose a management career, and spent most of his career inside, and rank does not entitle him to call himself a “cop,” or “top cop.”

Yes, the chief and management have their roles and responsibilities, and ultimately some policing decisions have to be made on another level, but let’s keep the uniform and role in perspective.

Kevin Birkett retired from the Winnipeg Police Service in 2020.