MILNEWS.ca News Highlights – 20 Sept 11

• Natynczyk’s Plane Rides (1)  Busy Monday for the CDS – he spoke to the Prime Minister and he spoke to the defence critics.  Here’s the newest story line:  “Canada’s chief of defence staff says he takes full responsibility for the travel expenses he has incurred and will reimburse the government if he is found to have broken any rules ….”  Variations on that theme here, here, here and from the outlet that broke the story here.  My read of this:  if he says this after meeting the PM and the defence critics, I’m going to guess he’s pretty sure the rules have been followed.
• Natynczyk’s Plane Rides (2)  And who decides if the rules have been followed?  This, from the CDS, quoted by the Globe & Mail:  “Canada’s top soldier now says he will cut a cheque to defray the cost of taking a government jet to a Caribbean vacation last year if the Prime Minister’s Office requests it. ….“If the government, as the Prime Minister indicated, his office looks at that trip … if the interpretation of the Treasury Board guidelines on this regard is incorrect, then I will reimburse as required,” he said ….”  Similar wording from CTV.ca here.  We’ll just have to see what the PM’s Office has to say about Treasury Board’s rules and if they apply here (which is different from hearing what the Treasury Board has to say).
• Natynczyk’s Plane Rides (3a)  The CDS is appointed by the PM.  And how was the PM’s defence of his choice of CDS in the House of Commons during Question Period?  According to the Globe & Mail, “…. On the current controversy surrounding Gen. Natynczyk, NDP defence critic Jack Harris asked why the general had been allowed to take flights worth more than $1-million in the nearly four years he had headed the military – many of them on Challenger jets reserved for government VIPs. Mr. Harper, who met with Gen. Natynczyk on Monday, said the military chief understands the rules for taking government jets “and is certainly prepared to live according to those rules. The Chief of the Defence Staff does fly very frequently on government business, but obviously where there are alternatives, we will look into that usage.” ….”
• Natynczyk’s Plane Rides (3b)  Here’s what a transcript of the exchange in the House of Commons says was said:  “Mr. Jack Harris (St. John’s East, NDP): Mr. Speaker, the cost of the Chief of the Defence Staff’s recent taxpayer-funded trips to events such as football games, hockey games and the Calgary Stampede have shocked Canadians. The government is now planning significant cuts to the Canadian Forces. Will the Conservative austerity plan only apply to soldiers, sailors and airmen and women and not to the brass? Why did the Minister of National Defence approve over $1 million of flights to be taken by the Chief of the Defence Staff?  Right Hon. Stephen Harper (Prime Minister, CPC): Mr. Speaker, the Minister of National Defence has outlined the rules under which ministers use government aircraft. I have spoken to the Chief of the Defence Staff. He understands what those expectations are and is certainly prepared to live according to those rules. As members know, the Chief of the Defence Staff does fly very frequently on government business, but obviously where there are alternatives we will look into that usage.“
• Natynczyk’s Plane Rides (3c)  Here’s how Defence Minister Peter MacKay handled a similar question earlier:  “Mr. Mathieu Ravignat (Pontiac, NDP): Mr. Speaker, Conservative ministers are developing quite a passion for the use of high-flying government jets. The Minister of Finance and the Minister of National Defence make particular liberal use of the jets. The Prime Minister says that everything is fine because he pays the paltry equivalent of a commercial airline ticket. Why have the Conservatives abandoned their commitment to respect taxpayers dollars when it comes to jetting around the country? Hon. Peter MacKay (Minister of National Defence, CPC): Mr. Speaker, just to throw a few facts into the mix, the policy for the Prime Minister and all ministers requires that commercial travel be utilized for public business, the government aircraft being used when commercial travel is not available. I would remind the member opposite that when it comes to the liberal use of this aircraft, the Conservative government has reduced the average annual spending of the ministers’ Challenger flights by approximately 80% over the previous Liberal government.”
• Natynczyk’s Plane Rides (4)  I really have to give credit where it’s due – CBC.ca is offering more information (including an intriguing tidbit), and not just from those aching for a “gotcha” story.  Good show for not JUST following the pack.  “…. Last week’s news reports indicated that it costs about $10,000 an hour to fly a Challenger, including pilot salaries, training costs and the cost of the planes’ depreciation. The actual flying cost is $2,630 an hour, according to numbers provided by the Department of National Defence. “These aircraft — these Challengers — are not used very much,” CBC’s James Cudmore reported. Natynczyk said military Challengers are flown an additional 170 hours a year with no passengers on board so that pilots can maintain their proficiency. “So these hours are paid for, they’re all paid for — there’s no incremental cost to the Crown,” he said. “That’s why, especially when I travel and I have the team with me, it’s less expensive to the government of Canada to get into that Challenger than it is to put them into an aircraft, in a commercial aircraft.” Natynczyk travels with up to six or seven people, sometimes including a close protection team with automatic weapons. He also needs the secure communication lines provided on government aircraft that allow him to work while he’s in the air. Cudmore said sources told CBC News that the story about Natynczyk may have been leaked by someone, perhaps in a bid to see the general replaced ….”
• Natynczyk’s Plane Rides (5)  We’ve gone from a Saturday Calgary Herald editorial headlined “Jet-setting general” to this commentary from the National Post:  “…. Defence Minister Peter MacKay offered him use of the Challenger to join his family on vacation after he spent Christmas in Kandahar, and then attended a repatriation ceremony for five Canadians killed in Afghanistan, forcing him to miss his scheduled flight. Was he supposed to hang around Pearson airport waiting for a cancellation instead? ….”
• Natynczyk’s Plane Rides (6)  One letter to the editor (bottom of page) sums it up for me:  “…. If the Chief of Defence Staff had done what the average Canadian would have done, said, “sorry I cannot be there to honour a Canadian hero, I have a holiday booked,” then the headline would have been something like “Top General Too Busy On A Cruise To Honour Our Dead.” ….”
• In other news in case you’ve been distracted by the shiny bright thing that is the CDS’s jet story….  “An internal government investigation has concluded that Conservative MP Bob Dechert did not breach national security despite exchanging emails with a Chinese reporter, insiders say. CTV News has learned the RCMP and Canadian Security Intelligence Service have found no evidence Dechert compromised national security as a result of his relationship with Shi Rong, a reporter with the Xinhua News Agency in Toronto. Senior CSIS and RCMP officers confirmed to CTV that the Chinese news agency functions as an intelligence arm of China ….”
• Libya Mission  The House of Commons Standing Committee on National Defence prepares to hear about and discuss the Libyan misison today.
• A reminder that not ALL of Canada’s troops overseas are in Afghanistan.  “On 27 August 2011, the nine members of Task Force Freetown were guests of honour at the jubilant opening of the rebuilt Grafton Scout Camp near Freetown, Sierra Leone. Guests and Scouts joined together in a heartfelt ceremony with gifts, singing and outbursts of rhythmic clapping to thank Scouts Canada, the members of Task Force Freetown and the people of Canada for their generosity and compassion. Task Force Freetown, the Canadian Forces team deployed in Sierra Leone with the International Military Advisory and Training Team, got involved with the local branch of the Scouting movement through a civil-military cooperation (CIMIC) project. With a budget of Cdn$90,000, it turned into the most ambitious CIMIC effort ever undertaken by the tiny task force in its 11 years of existence ….”
• Afghanistan  Door Gunner 101 courtesy of the CF Info-Machine.  “Door gunners are combat arms soldiers whose job is all about protecting soldiers. During the Task Force Freedom combat mission in Afghanistan, door gunners ranging in rank from private to sergeant flew aboard CH 146 Griffon and CH-147 Chinook helicopters. On the Chinooks, they used their weapons strictly for local protection and close defence; on the Griffons, they were called upon to protect ground troops and ensure the security of the Chinooks they were escorting ….”
• Way Up North  Russia:  If you’re not an Arctic country, keep your nose outta the Arctic.  “Russia will increase its military presence in the Arctic – a region NATO should stay out of, a senior Kremlin official said Tuesday. ‘Our northern border used to be closed because of ice and a severe climate,’ said Anton Vasilev, a special ambassador for Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. ‘But the ice is going away we cannot leave 20,000 kilometres unwatched. We can’t leave ourselves in a position where we are undefended,’ Vasilev said, in an interview with the Interfax news agency. Global warming and demand for new energy sources make necessary new and clearer international agreements on the division of Arctic region’s resources and usage he said. Only Arctic Council nations – and not outside agencies like NATO or the European Union – should set the groundwork, he said ….”
• I’m shocked, SHOCKED to hear someone from the Rideau Institute object to a British nuclear sub visiting Canada.  “A British nuclear submarine will visit the Port of Halifax next month, CBC News has learned, and that has at least one military critic worried about the risk of a nuclear accident. The British nuclear submarine fleet has been plagued by accidents in recent years, including a fatal explosion and fire, an onboard shooting and an underwater collision with a French sub.There have also been multiple leaks of low-level radiation. And while the risk of a major accident is small, Steve Staples of the Rideau Institute in Ottawa said, the consequences for Nova Scotians would be dire if the worst should occur. “If a fire spread to a nuclear reactor and even any of the potential nuclear weapons that could be on board, you could see the release of radiation like we had in Fukushima,” Staples said ….”
• Now that the branches have been “Royalized”, more calls for unit re-namings are coming out of the woodwork.  “Made up mostly of farmers, fishermen and blue collar workers from northeastern New Brunswick, they became one of the most decorated military units in Canadian history as the North Shore Regiment. They were one of the first Canadian units to fight in the Great War. Before the regiment was merged with others in New Brunswick, it was among the first to breach Adolph Hitler’s Fortress Europe on Juno Beach in Normandy, France on D-Day during the Second World War. And while the “royal” title has been restored to many Armed Forces veterans delight, a growing chorus of voices wants to see New Brunswick’s second battalion of the Royal New Brunswick Regiment drop the colonial throwback for its original name. Proponents now say they are closer than ever to seeing the North Shore Regiment return after meeting with both provincial and federal officials this month. “We lost our identity,” said Graham Wiseman, president of the North Shore Veteran’s Association, whose father, Sprague Wiseman, is the only surviving member of the original regiment from Bathurst. “It has been a long wait to get it back, but there is a feeling that it will now happen.” ….”

MILNEWS.ca News Highlights – 13 Aug 11

• Libya Mission (1)  “There’s no way to tell right now whether NATO will have to extend its Libyan operation past the end of September, a top Canadian general told MPs on Friday. In June, the Commons overwhelmingly voted to extend Canadian participation in the operation to September 27. Maj.-Gen. Jonathan Vance, the director of the strategic joint staff, said, however, that a rushed withdrawal by NATO, without some kind of political settlement, would be disastrous. Vance, who once commanded Canadian troops in Afghanistan, told MPs on the Commons defence committee that diplomatic and political efforts are vital now to produce a solution. He says no one can predict how things will unfold over the next six weeks …. Newfoundland MP Jack Harris, the NDP defence critic, said he believes that NATO has done the job it set out to do, which was to protect Libyan civilians from Gadhafi. “The capability of Col. Gadhafi to mount this kind of activity has been degraded to the point where that’s no longer the issue,” he said. “The problem that we have is that we don’t want this to morph into some sort of prolonged mission.” It’s time to go, said the New Democrat ….”
• Libya Mission (2)  “Top Canadian military and diplomatic authorities are saying little about whether they will be able to pull out of the UN-led military mission in Libya by the end of September as planned.  Maj.-Gen. John Vance could not give a direct answer when asked Friday morning by MPs if officials will stick to Canada’s mandated exit date of Sept. 27, 2011, based on how stable Libya is today.  “There are a lot of factors at play,” Vance told the informal parliamentary committee meeting. “The efforts of NATO today are essential.”  If the military withdrew today — without a negotiated settlement with dictator Moammar Gadhafi — Vance said it would be an “absolute calamity.”  The general, along with Sandra McCardell, Canada’s ambassador to Libya, and other officials were testifying at the defence committee meeting on Canada’s role in the Libyan mission to protect its citizens from Gadhafi’s military attacks …. Diplomats, meanwhile, are striving to hammer out a “verifiable” ceasefire, McCardell said. Gadhafi has announced a ceasefire in the past, but his forces kept shooting.  She said envoys are still looking for the right person within the regime to come to the negotiating table.  Vance said the military has no plans to “put boots on the ground” in Libya and become an occupying force …. Neither McCardell, Vance nor other witnesses could say for sure if the rebel group would be able to maintain security after NATO leaves, if Gadhafi would ever accept a ceasefire, or if the conflict is on its way to becoming a stalemate ….”
• CFB Borden getting two new dining halls and kitchens, CF Info-Machine version – emphasis mine:  “The Honourable Peter MacKay, Minister of National Defence, today announced plans to construct two new All Ranks Kitchen and Dining Facilities at Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Borden. In total, these projects are valued at approximately $77 million and involve the construction of two new 6,133 m2 facilities that will replace four kitchen facilities …. The construction of the two new single-story kitchen and dining facilities will replace both existing Junior Ranks dining halls, the Officers’ Mess, and Senior NCO Mess currently being used at CFB Borden by 3,000 military personnel daily. This project is part of the CFB Borden Master Real Property Development Plan which aims to consolidate all training and quarters functions into two separate areas. Each facility will be able to serve approximately 1,500 persons per meal, and will be located on the north and south sides of the base. These new buildings will address existing deficiencies found at the current facilities, some of which are over 50 years old ….”  More in Backgrounder here.
• CFB Borden getting two new dining halls and kitchens, media version:  “…. Critics called it a questionable expense, especially at a time when the government says it intends to cut expenditures. “We do have to question how they’re setting their priorities in terms of dealing with the deficit,” NDP defence critic Jack Harris told Postmedia News. “It seems — on the surface — an outrageous amount of money for dining facilities,” Harris said. The government recently announced the closure of two search-and-rescue co-ordinating centres in Quebec City and St. John’s to save “probably a couple of million dollars a year” and yet it can find the cash to replace existing buildings, he added. “Canadians are going to question the timing of this announcement,” said Gregory Thomas of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. While the armed forces should have up-to-date equipment and infrastructure, the country is running a $30-billion deficit and this type of spending will be difficult to justify to the public, Thomas said ….”
• Way Up North (1)  The Kingston Whig-Standard appears to have a reporter with the CF in the north for Operation Nanook 2011. “The engines on the Twin Otter came up to full power and the aircraft started rolling along the gravel runway. In a remarkably short distance, the aircraft was airborne and on its way. The flight took the plane about 100 km from Resolute Bay, where it delivered three barrels of aviation fuel, part of a fuel cache being set up to support helicopters that are to fly out of the base in the coming weeks. Resolute Bay, at 74 degrees North latitude, is a five-hour flight from southern Ontario. It takes about as long to fly to Vancouver, and Resolute Bay is still almost 1,100 km south of Alert, Canada’s most northern point. Flying in Canada’s Arctic is largely ruled by the extremes of two factors: distance and weather. “The Arctic is difficult because there are so few communities up here. Especially with small aircraft, you have to plan better,” said Capt. Tom Turk, a pilot with the Canadian Forces’ 440 Squadron based in Yellowknife, N.W.T. ….” 
• Way Up North (2)  CF research arm paper on proposed staging bases in Canada’s Arctic:  “Optimal RSOM-hub Locations for Northern Operations: A MAJAID Scenario Analysis” (PDF).  Part of the executive summary (abstract and executive summary is downloadable here (PDF) via Army.ca):  “…. The study indicated that the RSOM-hub concept could offer potential cost avoidance and response time reduction on deployment lift for MAJAID operations in the North and could be a potential strategy for improvement of the CF domestic support capability. For a single RSOM-hub solution, Yellowknife would be the time effective RSOM-hub location. From a cost avoidance perspective, Iqaluit would the optimal hub location. Both airfields have the required capability and resources (e.g., fuel, maintenance) for supporting strategic lift aircraft (CC-177) and tactical helicopter (CH-146) operations. For a multiple RSOM-hub solution, the analysis indicates that the optimal number of RSOM-hubs would be two, corresponding to Iqaluit and Yellowknife, when response time and cost avoidance are both considered ….”
• CF troops headed south – 4 Aug 11:  Honduras’ government approves 150 Canadian troops to enter as part of Exercise PANAMAX II
• CF troops headed south – 12 Aug 11 (1) (emphasis mine):  “…. Canadian troops have been cleared to train with the Honduran military. On Aug. 4, the National Congress of Honduras approved the entry of Canadian soldiers into the country to take part in a joint training exercise. The results of three votes on the matter were posted this past Monday on the National Congress’ website. Canada’s Department of National Defence has not announced any training exercises in Honduras. The Prime Minister’s Office said it was unaware of any joint training exercise taking place ….”
• CF troops headed south – 12 Aug 11 (2):  “The Honourable Peter MacKay, Minister of National Defence, is pleased to announce the participation of the Canadian Forces in Her Majesty’s Canadian Ships Athabaskan and Algonquin in Exercise PANAMAX, a multinational exercise that focuses on the defence of this important region and the Panama Canal …. Approximately 500 Canadian Forces members will participate in this exercise. HMCS Athabaskan and HMCS Algonquin, each carrying approximately 240 sailors, will work with seventeen countries, including the United States, as part of this multinational exercise aimed at defending the Panama Canal from threat of terrorist attack, natural disaster or pandemic outbreak in order to maintain free and open access to the Panama Canal. HMC Ships Athabaskan and Algonquin are Iroquois-class destroyers, based in Halifax and Esquimalt respectively. These ships are area air defence destroyers and command and control platforms. They are fitted with sophisticated anti-air weapons systems, advanced weapons and communications systems and are capable of leading national and international task groups such as those in Panama. In addition to the naval assets, a CP-140 Aurora aircraft will deploy to Panama airport to participate in the exercise ….”
• What’s Canada Buying?   Wanted:  someone to carry out accreditation survey for Canadian Forces Medical Service, “Capabillity Survey of Naval Soft-Kill Systems” (more on that in bid documents – PDF – here) and someone to fly bad guy and target planes for training (more on that in bid document extract – PDF – here).
• Afghanistan  “She grew up and went to school in Winnipeg, now Alexandra “Ali” Lamont is trying to make it safe for kids in Afghanistan to go to school. “I’ll be assisting with the institutional development of Afghan police,” said Lamont, who leaves for Kabul next week. Making Afghanistan safe for people to get around is key to its future, said the 45-year-old with a law degree and masters in economics who works with Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada. “It’s fulfilling over there, trying to make some kind of difference,” said Lamont, who spent five months in Kandahar last year. “You see flocks of kids going to school.” There’s so many kids enrolled, some schools run in three shifts. “Afghans are keen to move forward — girls and boys — to take advantage of this opportunity.” Her one-year term is in Kabul, Afghanistan’s capital. The diplomat and policy analyst will work with experts from a number of countries to establish a police force to serve and protect Afghans ….”
• A reminder: The Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and Canada’s constitution, guarantees the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty.  That said, what’s worse than someone faking s/he has served in the military?  Someone faking military service AND lying about an illness to rip people off.  “A B.C. man wanted for allegedly posing as a member of the military and seeking donations to pay for his health costs has been charged with fraud. Douglas Archie Clark, 64, of Burnaby, was charged with 13 counts of fraud, police said in a news release Friday. Police allege Clark has defrauded 40 or more victims out of more than $1 million. Complaints dating back to the 1990s claim Clark portrayed himself as either an active or retired member of the Canadian military – and was even seen in a military-style uniform, police said. It’s alleged he asked for money to pay for cancer treatments that were not covered by his medical plan. After an investigation spanning three and a half years, police arrested and charged Clark in June. The court released him under the conditions he not contact any of the alleged victims or wear any military uniform. He was also ordered to stay in B.C. and return to court July 11. When he failed to appear at that court date, a warrant was issued for his arrest, and he was picked up again Thursday ….”

MILNEWS.ca News Highlights – 9 Aug 11

• Libya Mission (1)  “The consensus around Canada’s military deployment in Libya looks set to unravel next month, unless there is a resolution on the ground. In late June, the NDP supported a three-and-a-half month extension to Canada’s involvement in the UN-sponsored mission in Libya. But Paul Dewar, the party’s foreign affairs critic, said he would like to see an end to the military mission when the current parliamentary mandate runs out on Sept. 27. “Come the end of the timeline we’ve set in Parliament, I think it’s time to say that’s enough on the military equation for Canada, and that we need to put our focus on the diplomatic and political side, as other countries have done. Norway has just finished its commitment. Canada should be there until September, then we should say we’ve done our bit,” he said …. “  More on the NDP’s GTFO Libya desires here.
• Libya Mission (2)  “It’s not up to anyone outside Libya to decide what happens to dictator Moammar Gadhafi if he’s forced from power, Canada’s ambassador to the country said Monday. Sandra McCardell, ambassador to Libya, says it’s Canada’s position, as well as that of NATO, that Gadhafi must go. But what happens next is up to Libyans, she told MPs at a briefing to the House of Commons foreign affairs committee. “What transition follows is for the Libyan people to determine. It’s their country and they’re responsible for developing a transitional government,” she said. “It will be up to them to determine their future.” Pushed on the question, McCardell said, “There’s no support for impunity” for Gadhafi, but the terms of an eventual peace settlement will come from the two sides on the ground. “I don’t believe the Libyan people … have any interest in returning [to the system under Gadhafi],” she said ….”
• Libya Mission (3)  “Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird today issued the following statement: “Canada declares all remaining diplomats at the Libyan embassy in Ottawa personae non gratae, effective immediately. This is the latest step Canada has taken to isolate and delegitimize the Qadhafi regime. “These people now have five business days to vacate the embassy and leave the country. “As part of this declaration, we are also cutting off these diplomats’ access to the embassy’s bank accounts.” “
• Taliban Propaganda Watch  Taliban making hay over downing of Chinook full o’ special forces troops.
• “With three of its four submarines undergoing expensive and delayed repairs, Canada’s role under the waves is the subject of renewed controversy. “We keep hearing from (the Defence Department) that the subs are OK, that they’re gonna be fine, but we’ve been hearing this for 10 years,” said NDP defence critic Peter Stoffer on Monday. “Whoever kicked the tires on these didn’t do a good job, and this is taking money away from other aspects and operations of (the Defence Department).” Canada bought its fleet of four Victoria-class submarines second-hand from Britain in 1998 for $851 million to replace its aging fleet of Oberon-class submarines. Stoffer said that “it seemed like an excellent deal” at the time to increase the navy’s capabilities but subsequent repairs have meant the submarines have spent little time operating ….”
• What’s Canada Buying? (1)  Wanted:  someone to determine the latest formula for Post Living Differential allowance and study CFB Suffield’s ecosystem.
• What’s Canada Buying? (2)  Why is it so hard to find someone to run & maintain CFS Alert?  Maybe this time will be more successful than these other times.
• Way Up North (1)  GG dropping by Canada’s Arctic.  “Governor General David Johnston will make his first official visit to Nunavut on Aug. 15. Johnston and his wife Sharon will visit Iqaluit, Qikiqtarjuaq, Repulse Bay, Kugaaruk and Resolute Bay between Aug. 15-21, said a Rideau Hall news release. “As a vital part of our collective history, there is much we can learn from the Inuit culture,” Johnston said in a statement ….”  More in the GG’s statement here.
• Way Up North (2)  “Canada will lose out to Russia’s Arctic shipping routes because it is too small to finance the infrastructure, France’s ambassador for the polar regions said Monday. Melting polar ice will make Canada’s Northwest Passage more accessible in the next decades, but Canada does not seem interested in exploiting it for shipping, said Michel Rocard, who recently returned from a tour of the Arctic aboard the Canadian icebreaker Amundsen. “I have the impression that Canada has given up on the competition to attract a large part of the traffic in 25 or 30 years,” Rocard said. The former French prime minister said Canada is “too small to finance itself the infrastructure” needed to spur commercial shipping through its Northwest Passage — a shorter route between European and Asian markets than the Suez and Panama canals ….”
• Way Up North (3)  “It’s taken 15 years and nearly a half a billion dollars, but the curtain is beginning to come down on one of Canada’s largest environmental cleanup projects. By the end of the summer, cleanup at 19 of 21 abandoned Distant Early Warning Line radar sites across the North will have been completed, according to the Department of National Defence ….”
• PTSD:  it’s not just about soldiers.  “Diagnoses of an affliction once met with only stoicism and stigma within Canada’s national police force have skyrocketed as commanders encourage officers to seek treatment for post traumatic stress disorder. More than 1,700 Mounties have been diagnosed with PTSD, with nearly 300 officers joining the ranks last year alone. Within police circles, the RCMP’s new-found determination to tackle the disorder has quietly raised questions for policy makers at all levels of government. What can be done to better shield police from trauma? How should panels assess claims for taxpayer-funded compensation? And if police PTSD is truly pervasive, why are other police forces apparently doing relatively little about it? ….”