RE: [SG2] You'll never take me alive, coppers:Was RE: PA availab

George,Eugene spake thusly upon matters weighty: 

> Yeah, guess I forgot about the US Army MP's.... Again the ability to
have
> short or no supply lines is handy. You can drive to the scene of the
riot or
> shoot out, finish your doughnut and not hump umpteen million miles
just to
> get shot at.

Now that sounds like an infantry sentiment (heh heh). Reminds me of 
how the Armoured Recce guys used to like to drive buy hot, tired, 
sweaty grunts and pop open a cold one as they drove by.... (buggers). 
Their motto was "...if it's more than 10 feet, we drive!". 

 So individual RCMP detachments are doled out weapons according
> to need/ budget/ mission/ status rather than by some overweaning
> master-plan.

Has to do with modern fiscal realities. Most places RCMP are doing 
what you'd know as normal police work (General Duty Policing), they 
are doing it as a contract agency that won a contract bid to the 
municipality or region. Means that 90% of the funding comes from the 
Municipality, thus giving it a lot of control of the situation. Now, 
mind you, they are still RCMP members who also must answer to 
Ottawa's directives (two masters....). 

 Interesting. Well it's not much of an effort to change Royal
> Canadian to Royal COLONIAL so maybe that's a good starting point for
NAC's
> law enforcement arm.

You could do far worse. Their advantage includes the fact that they 
get good training at Depot in Saskatchewan, they are a Federal body, 
so that you get new officers in and out of an area every few years 
thus helping to minimize local nepotism and patronage that develops 
in many municipal or small town departments that don't get outsiders 
rotated through regularly, and they are very professional. 

 I imagine some RCMP detachments have to cover a
> bazillion square miles (hectares?) in some of the more remote areas of
> Canada, much like some theoretical frontier worlds. Sargeant Preston
of
> Alpha Centauri? and his glort Centauri King!?

Heh! Due South of the Ecliptic? Dudley Do-right of the New Anglian 
Royal Colonial Mounted Police (NARCMP)?

In fact, for example, Alberta (about as big as two or three states) 
has two dispatch centres, one of which serves 350-400 officers 
scattered over 70 odd detachments, but since a few are urban 
detachments with 10-40 officers, many are 2-10 man (1-2 
SG2 squads?) detachments in the middle of nowhere that cover wide 
areas. When your nearest backup is 150km away, you learn that your 
gun isn't how you police - you live by your wits and your strength of 
will/character. You learn not to put yourself into a position you 
can't survive and you learn that you have to do your job without 
making fights happen that you can't win with minimal support (your 
one other guy!). 

Now, the country Mounties are likely to have an AR-15 or an Mini-14 
tucked away in the detachment office (or even in the car) along with 
a shotgun in the car. But you still don't want to look like a tac 
team officer (black, armoured, heavily armed) when you show up at a 
domestic, even if it is in west nowheresville. You still have to 
present an image - that's why RCMP use low profile undershirt vests 
most of the time, and don't draw their pistols too often. Like the 
British police, our guys try to defuse rather than dominate - until 
they don't have any choice.  Note that backwoods detachments tend to 
love Dog units, since the Dog is like an extra man, but with better 
eyes and reflexes. 

Tom. 

/************************************************
Thomas Barclay		     
Voice: (613) 831-2018 x 4009
Fax: (613) 831-8255

 "C makes it easy to shoot yourself in the foot.  C++ makes
 it harder, but when you do, it blows away your whole leg."
 -Bjarne Stroustrup
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