Pubdate: Tue, 31 Dec 2013
Source: Record, The (Kitchener, CN ON)
Copyright: 2013 Metroland Media Group Ltd.
Contact:  http://www.therecord.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/225
Author: Liz Monteiro

HANDING IN THE BADGE

Retiring Police Officers Have Seen The Changing Face Of Crime - And
Crime-fighting

WATERLOO REGION - When Supt. Gary Askin entered policing as a
19-year-old cadet, it was common practice to knock on doors, scan
neighbourhoods and talk to shopkeepers to gather information.

Those traditional investigative tactics are still part of the drill.
But police agencies are increasingly using online technology to track
down criminals.

Recently, one of Askin's intelligence officers was trying to find a
person of interest and all they had was a nickname. Within minutes,
the service's open source analyst had found the individual on
Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat.

"You don't have to get up off your chair or drive up and down King
Street," said Askin, who at 53 is retiring Dec. 31 after 33 years as
an officer with Waterloo Regional Police Service.

Also joining him in retirement are Supt. Anne McConnell and Supt.
Adrian Darmon, long-serving officers with Waterloo Regional Police

For nearly seven years, Darmon was head of homicide. The 3 a.m. phone
call from a detective was typically his wake-up call. And in the
immediate 48 to 72 hours after a suspicious death, police are their
busiest.

"We are all offended when somebody loses their life," said Darmon,
who, at 54, retires after 32 years as a police officer. "You can't
underestimate the impact the loss has on family and friends."

Askin's career in policing started in patrol, followed by the tactical
team and later into drug investigation and undercover work. Much of
his career has been spent in intelligence, involving criminal gangs,
hate crime and terrorism.

Under Askin, the police service initiated a hate crime extremism
investigative team, which now involves 15 police agencies.

Askin and his officers were instrumental in monitoring the activities
of white supremacists who called Waterloo Region home in the early
2000s. The skinhead groups included Tri City Skins, The Canadian
Ethnic Cleansing Team and the Canadian Heritage Alliance.

Askin and others monitored skinhead parties where hate was promoted
through rock music and followed the local groups when they held
meetings in other cities.

The white supremacist groups were shut down in the area, some for drug
trafficking, others involved in child pornography.

Hate crime investigations have led Askin to exchange ideas with police
in Tel Aviv on safe city projects, meeting with a counter-terrorism
unit in Germany, and visiting the Gestapo Museum in Cologne to explore
the origins of hate.

Askin also spent considerable time leading investigations into
organized crime, particularly involving the Hells Angels. Locally,
five full-patch members and nine associates were arrested.

In the 1980s, a quarter-pound of cocaine was a massive seizure, Askin
said. Today, it's not uncommon to arrest a 20-year-old with a kilogram
- - more than two pounds - of cocaine, handguns and cash.

Askin attributes the increase in drug trafficking to the influence of
criminal gangs.

The proliferation of gangs was closely watched by intelligence
officers after the stabbing death of Howard Joel Munroe in Victoria
Park in 2001. The 20-year-old black man was attacked by a white street
gang during Victoria Day celebrations.

Askin said a focus in intelligence in the past two years has been on
human trafficking. An officer was moved into the area full-time to
investigate cases of human trafficking in the region.

Askin said human trafficking has expanded to include young women who
are "grabbed by drug dealers who get them hooked on drugs, use them as
prostitutes and, when they are done with them, sell them."

"Anybody is vulnerable if they are willing to experiment with drugs,"
he said. "You can become a target."

Askin, who often lectures about drugs at the University of Guelph and
the University of Waterloo, has little sympathy for those who call pot
a soft drug. "Marijuana is poison," says Askin, who has seen the
negative effects of marijuana on young men.

Although he's retiring, Askin said he plans to remain connected with
technology and how it can help improve police work.

"It's bittersweet. I love the job and the organization," he said. "I'm
going to miss the work."  
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D