Meeting McCaskill

 Ironically, its removal from the annual spot is fitting on this abnormally warm January morning, when the local papers report Winnipeg’s first homicide of 2008. Like the story the tree is said to represent, the news story involves a pregnant woman. Only this story ends differently. This woman is gunned down gangland style in the entranceway of a Magnus Street home. When the paramedics arrive, it’s too late: neither she nor her unborn child survive. Sadly, rather than enter in, hope exits the world through a bullet hole in a door.

Unlike his poker-faced and controversial predecessor, Jack Ewatski, newly appointed Chief of Police Keith McCaskill seems too nice to be a cop. He is a friendly and genuine family man with a large, boyish grin and a thick, gray wave of game-show-host hair that together take at least five off of his 53 years. But while one’s initial impression might be that the crisp blue uniform is somehow lost on such a likable individual, it takes only a few minutes of conversation to understand that there is probably no one better suited to wear it.

The son of a municipal police chief, McCaskill comes by his new position honestly. At age 21, after a number of years working with the St. James Assiniboia parks board, he decided, without any prodding from his father, to give policing a shot. He applied and was accepted. Following what was then a much shorter and less intense training period, he was assigned to foot patrol, as was the case for newbies in those days. And so, day in and day out for three years he walked “the drag,” or Winnipeg’s Main Street hotel strip. It was an experience that would forever change his policing philosophy. “It was actually really enjoyable working in that area,” he offers with a hint of nostalgia. “It was tough and a lot of people were involved in criminal activity, but because you were a beat officer, you got to know everybody. You could walk into any of the hotel bars and be treated with respect. Walk into a suburban bar, on the other hand, and people would heckle you and call you names, because they weren’t used to seeing police around. I quickly learned that police presence at all times is imperative if things are going to run smoothly. It’s all about developing relationships.”

The rest of McCaskill’s 29 years with the Winnipeg Police Service saw him, quite literally, with his hands in everything. Inspector, staff sargent, division commander: at one time or another, he has worn each title with pride. His experience is so extensive, in fact, that it takes 15 minutes of recording time to go through his numerous roles; each of which he makes sure to lay out carefully in layman’s terms. He seems particularly fond of his time heading up Division 20, a criminal investigations unit comprised of 12 departments and a smile crosses his face when he mentions that he put together the winning security bid for the Pam Am Games. To say that McCaskill has always loved his job would not be a stretch.

Prior to his recent appointment, McCaskill spent the past couple of years as the provincial coordinator of aboriginal and municipal law enforcement for the province of Manitoba Criminal Justice Division. And while he enjoyed ensuring there was efficient and effective policing around the province, it turned out to be another important step along the road to his new role. “It’s helped me immensely to develop an outside perspective,” he explains. “There’s a very strong culture within the Winnipeg Police Service, one that I’m very familiar with after 30 years. And that’s okay. But someone in this position needs to be able to step back and understand both sides.”

When queried about the current state of the force, McCaskill is, first and foremost, politically correct, offering that it is “a great organization full of professional and competent people who work very hard at what they’re doing.” He does, however, admit that despite having the infrastructure and expertise, the existing resources might need a good shuffle to help with serious concerns like response time; something his team, he assures me, is already looking at.

The key to improvement, McCaskill has offered from day one, is communication, both internally and externally. Without it, things will implode. Before throwing his name in for the position, he spent countless hours talking with various community groups, listening to their concerns. It is dialogue he has every intention of continuing, even if he has to reserve a couple of days a week to do so.

Part of that dialogue means delivering what he feels is an important message. “In most cities, the police service is the only 24-hour business in town,” he says before mentioning Point Douglas as a shining example of community and police partnership. “And because of that you get more and more loaded on you. We have to be honest with the community and say we can do these things, we can’t do these, and here are areas where we can assist you. We cannot do everything for everyone, but together we can accomplish a lot. Without community involvement, you could triple your force and not be any better off. We need to work together in order to resolve issues.”

And issues there are. One of the biggest as of late has been the integrity of some of the members of the force, which when mentioned, brings out what may be McCaskill’s two greatest assets: realism and responsibility. “You have to understand that we have over 1,600 people here and that every organization, whether you’re looking at Manitoba Hydro, the fire department, MTS, whatever, is made up of people,” he explains. “Some people think that when police officers throw on a uniform, they’re perfect. They’re not. They get hired like everyone else and they have the same thoughts and sometimes biases they’ve had their whole lives. There will be mistakes, errors and there will be some intentional errors. What I have to do as the chief of police is present myself in a certain way and expect it to be followed all the way down the line. There will always be people who aren’t doing what they should be doing. It’s my job to correct that.”

Less than two months in, it is still too early to know how McCaskill will tackle the many unique and universal issues that plague our city. A few things are certain: He will be tough on organized crime. He will increase collaboration with national and international agencies. He will do what he thinks is best for the city he has spent his whole life in. And judging by the glimmer in his eye, there is hope that when the tree comes out of its resting place next holiday season, things will be a whole lot different.