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May 10, 2002
Anti-hate cops honored
Congress nominates local police officers for award because of
their attempts to stop bias crime in B.C.
PAT JOHNSON REPORTER
Two local police officers are being honored for their work on the
provincial Hate Crime Team, even as supporters lament the apparent
gutting of the program.
Sgt. Craig MacMillan of the RCMP and Sgt. Rick McKenna of the Vancouver
police department have been nominated by Canadian Jewish Congress
for a civil rights award in law enforcement, which is issued by
the International Association of Chiefs of Police.
In the formal nomination documents, the pair are commended for their
work in education and prevention by Nisson Goldman, chair of Canadian
Jewish Congress, Pacific Region. MacMillan and McKenna were paired
together on the Hate Crime Team from 1997 to 2000. Funding for their
positions has been cut and the officers have since been reassigned
to other duties. However, Goldman noted, they continue working as
best they can to combat hate crimes.
"I think we're both very pleased with it," MacMillan said
of the nomination. Even if they don't win the award, he said, the
nomination will provide a measure by which British Columbia can
be compared to other jurisdictions in North America in terms of
battling bias-motivated crimes. In his work investigating and educating
against hate crimes, MacMillan has travelled extensively around
Canada and the United States. On Sept. 11, he was in Washington,
D.C., headed to meetings at the Pentagon when the terror attacks
occurred there and in New York City.
As police officers, McKenna and MacMillan have to be careful not
to criticize decisions of the government or their superiors. They
both say, however, that bias crimes are the sort of thing that require
constant vigilance and concerted education to confront. The work
they began should not be allowed to wither, they agreed.
"I would like to see us more heavily involved," McKenna
said of the Hate Crime Team.
Though both officers continue to pursue an interest in the field,
MacMillan was reassigned within the RCMP and the force is expected
to replace him soon, after almost two years. The provincial government
had funded McKenna's secondment from the Vancouver force, but will
not renew the funds. The team will likely continue, but with just
one police officer in addition to support staff.
Goldman does not need to be as delicate as the police officers.
"The government may say the Hate Crime Team exists, but it
really doesn't," said Goldman. "We believe that having
the Hate Crime Team disbanded is a retrogressive step."
Goldman lauded the officers for their years of service, specifically
identifying projects undertaken by the team, including compilation
of the first comprehensive database of bias crime in the province.
British Columbia was the first jurisdiction in Canada to adopt this
model of joint forces to confront the issue of bias crime. In addition
to the two officers, who performed the policing and educational
aspects for the team, the management of the team also included representatives
of the Ministry of Attorney General and the Ministry of Multiculturalism
and Immigration.
Congress applauded the officers' work in presenting hate-crime education
to police officers throughout the province, in high school settings
and to entities such as probation, customs and correctional services.
The issue rose to prominence again after the terror attacks, when
Muslims in North America were subjected to harassment and discrimination.
Jewish institutions and individuals have also been victims of bias-motivated
actions in North America and Europe, apparently related to instability
in the Middle East. Goldman also cited the murder of the caretaker
of a Sikh temple and gay-bashing in Vancouver as examples of hate
crimes that need to be addressed in a concerted way.
Congress has requested a meeting with the province's attorney general
to discuss the status of the Hate Crime Team, to no avail.
The award winners will be announced at a convention in Minneapolis,
Minn., Oct. 5-9.
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