About this episode

The episode discusses the internal conflicts and tensions within the Saint John Police Force, highlighting the complexities of police governance and the implications for the community.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit hatchetmedia.ca There’s an unfortunate tendency to talk about the cops as some kind of a monolith. And don’t worry, I’m not about to go on some lecture about how not all police officers are bad. I just mean that we often miss that police forces are complex, political institutions with competing centres of power. There are the police boards that are supposed to govern these forces and maintain civilian rule over the cops; the police chief and upper management that run the force and oversee the day-to-day operations; the rank-and-file cops who actually do the police work; and the union that represents them. Even in relatively well-run police forces, there’s inevitably going to be tension between these different levels. But it’s not uncommon for those tensions to turn into outright infighting and backstabbing, which can have profound implications everyday people. That’s one way to think about what’s been happening in Saint John, New Brunswick. The city’s police chief Robert Bruce has been in his position since 2021. And over the last year, tensions that had been building between him and everyday officers have spilled out…

Topics covered

• police force dynamics
• tension in law enforcement
• Saint John police
• police governance
• union relations

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Saint John Police Force

Places: Saint John, New Brunswick

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