New Glasgow police force gets armoured vehicle

[shreenan]

http://thechronicleherald.ca/novascotia/859601-new-glasgow-police-force-gets-armoured-vehicle

Short read and I thought it was interesting.

NEW GLASGOW — It’s not a tank. It just looks like one.

And you won’t see it in your rear-view mirror with lights flashing anytime soon.

But, yes, the New Glasgow Police Service is the province’s first force to get its hands on an armoured military vehicle.

Defence Minister Peter MacKay, the Central Nova MP, dropped off the Cougar Light Armoured Vehicle, stripped of its weaponry, on the weekend.

“It may never be used, but if it’s needed, we will have the capability,” said Const. Ken Macdonald, spokesman for the police service, on Monday.

“It will be employed with our emergency response team. Its main purpose will be as a defensive tool, in case we need to go into a hostile situation to rescue fellow officers or victims.”

According to the Canadian American Strategic Review, Canada took delivery of its first Cougar in 1977. The six-wheeled vehicles, boasting a turret capable of firing high-explosive shells, saw service on Canadian peacekeeping missions to Somalia and the Balkans. The vehicles are no longer in active service with the military.

Three years ago, two of the vehicles were donated to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police for use with tactical units in Vancouver. New Glasgow is the first force in Atlantic Canada to receive one of the donated vehicles.

Macdonald said it was donated to his force “as is, where is,” and that the force needs to develop training and maintenance programs for the vehicle. A budget for maintaining it also needs to be established, he said.

“I can’t recall an incident where we’ve needed a vehicle like this in the past,” said Macdonald.

“It’s an extra resource. ... It’s not armed, it can’t shoot, but it’s basically bulletproof.”

No one from the Defence Department could be reached for comment.

(abeswick@herald.ca)

 

[Privateer]

Image at:  http://www.ngnews.ca/News/Local/2013-03-04/article-3191279/New-Glasgow-first-N.S.-town-to-receive-Cougar/1

 

[Journeyman]

New Glasgow first N.S. town to receive Cougar

I call BS.  I've seen plenty of "cougars" in NS bars.  :nod:

 

[Fishbone Jones]

I call BS.  I've seen plenty of "cougars" in NS bars.  :nod:

Still with their guns?  :rofl:

 

[Retired AF Guy]

I call BS.  I've seen plenty of "cougars" in NS bars.  :nod:

Just a hallucination caused by excessive alcohol consumption.

 

[cupper]

Just a hallucination caused by excessive alcohol consumption.

No, no. I was caught by a few in my young and stupid days.

But none of them has a light bar mounted on top. ;D

 

[Brad Sallows]

1. Macdonald said it was donated to his force “as is, where is,” and that the force needs to develop training and maintenance programs for the vehicle. A budget for maintaining it also needs to be established, he said.

2. “I can’t recall an incident where we’ve needed a vehicle like this in the past,” said Macdonald.

3. “It’s an extra resource.”

.
.
.
By "resource", he means "money sink".

 

[The_Falcon]

Durham Regional Police, also got their own RG-31 donated by General Dynamics,

Apparently the Toronto (Red) Star's, Urban Affairs and Architect Critic doesn't like it, and well doesn't like the police in general it seems. 

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2013/03/11/durham_regional_police_boast_biggest_and_best_toy_of_all_an_armoured_personnel_carrier_hume.html

 

[CougarKing]

Sorry to nitpick, but doesn't this thread belong more in the

Security and Emergency Services section as opposed to Canadian Politics?

 

[The_Falcon]

Could be both, reading the comments on articles, and you would think that police across the country are trying to militarize their forces, to crush young innocent Canadians. 

 

[Colin Parkinson]

Well they will be crushing innocent civilians if they take a corner to fast.....

 

[cupper]

Only need to worry about militarizing the police forces when the government puts in an order for 1.6 Billion rounds of ammo.

 

[a_majoor]

Many police forces are militarizing. Police tactical squads routinely carry automatic weapons, have armoured cars or personnel carriers of various sorts and often wear better IPE than we do.

The question we need to ask is "is the threat real and apparent enough to warrent this sort of response?"

If the answer is yes, then well and good. If the answer is no, then we should be rerouting police resources towards areas where they will do the most good. Forensics, white collar crime and identity theft are areas where the police should get more resources. Even in Toronto, every day is not like an episode of "Flashpoint".

 

[The_Falcon]

Many police forces are militarizing. Police tactical squads routinely carry automatic weapons, have armoured cars or personnel carriers of various sorts and often wear better IPE than we do.

The question we need to ask is "is the threat real and apparent enough to warrent this sort of response?"

If the answer is yes, then well and good. If the answer is no, then we should be rerouting police resources towards areas where they will do the most good. Forensics, white collar crime and identity theft are areas where the police should get more resources. Even in Toronto, every day is not like an episode of "Flashpoint".

Agreed, in regards to the new Durham vehicle, and the star columnist questioning the reasoning for heavy a vehicle like that...first thing that came to my mind was the Hell's Angels, there is/was an Oshawa chapter.  They are still around, and they have a tendency to build reinforced bunkers for clubhouses. 

 

[a_majoor]

The best way to get into a reinforced bunker is either explosive charges or use a bulldozer to collapse a wall. If a leftover AVGP is needed for police work, a Grizzly is probably the better choice anyway.

 

[cupper]

The best way to get into a reinforced bunker is either explosive charges or use a bulldozer to collapse a wall. If a leftover AVGP is needed for police work, a Grizzly is probably the better choice anyway.

That's essentially what they got, since the main gun was removed from the turret.

 

[JorgSlice]

To the critics:

Better to be equipped and prepared for the worst than to have you criticising us LEOs for not being prepared earlier when shite hits the turbine.

Cheers.

 

[a_majoor]

The internal layout of the Cougar isn't optimized for carrying troops, and the turret takes up a lot of the room that is left. Without weaponry, why even keep the turret?

WRT critics; if the New Glasgow force can demonstrate a real need for such equipment, then great. In the lead post the spokesman said:

I can’t recall an incident where we’ve needed a vehicle like this in the past,

which makes me wonder what has changed in New Glasgow.

Like Brad said, this has the potential to be a money pit and consume resources that the Force could be using for other police work. Even if they do have a demonstrated need for an armoured vehicle, they should have gotten something more suitable.