Kevin Wilson
Northern News Services

Iqaluit (Nov 26/01) - From Fort Smith to Arviat to Iqaluit, with a few southern destinations thrown in for good measure, Greg Bursey has worked 20 years in different RCMP uniformed and plainclothes assignments.

Cpl. Greg Bursey is Nunavut's newest cop in charge of community policing in the territory. - Kevin Wilson/NNSL photo

Now the Boston Bruins fan is doing something completely different. News/North talks to Bursey about his newest beat -- community policing.

You just got into the community policing business a few weeks ago. What prompted the move?

Well, I've been in the V division headquarters in Iqaluit for approximately two years now, in charge of the federal enforcement section, and I was looking for a change. An opportunity arose to take over the community policing job. So basically, myself and Cpl. Jimmy Akavak, the previous community policing NCO, he and I traded jobs. We transferred duties for a new challenge for both of us.

What was it about community policing that piqued your interest?

It was an opportunity to change my career path, and work directly with people and government agencies, directly in a partnership structure with the goal to developing some new programs that would enable us to provide a better level of service to Nunavut. I viewed it as a chance for me to do something different after 20 years in the RCMP. I basically spent the bulk of my service as an investigator on different units, uniformed and plainclothes, so it was an opportunity to take a change and do something different.

Where were you prior to coming to G Division?

I've spent a total of six years in the North. Two years in Iqaluit with federal enforcement. I previously served in Arviat and in Fort Smith in the Northwest Territories. I've also served in Newfoundland and British Columbia.

Tell me about community policing. What does it entail?

To give you a definition, basically it's a partnership between the police, and the community in a shared delivery of our police services, to involve the community at the community level, and to provide a better product to the people of Nunavut. It's a very wide mandate with a very large spectrum covering many different programs and aspects that we've tailored to the needs of Nunavut Territory in this case.

What are some of those needs?

Well, in the past, the types of things that community policing has been involved in are things like school visitation projects such as the DARE (Drug Awareness Resistance Education) program, the Onside program. Those deal with drug and alcohol issues. I'm also responsible for the community constable program in the communities, and the auxiliary constable program in our communities. Restorative justice is also a program we're working towards. Those are just a sampling of the types of things that I'm involved in on a daily basis.

Part of community policing is getting the public to recognize that the police are on the same side as they are, right?

Absolutely. That's completely what it's about. Our goal is to build partnerships and relationship with the community and basically have them help us police their community with a view to providing them with safe homes and a safe community. That's a priority for the RCMP, along with involving them more in the projects and programs that we sponsor.

In the past, we just dished out programs. Now we involve the different partners and agencies in the communities, the different federal government agencies and territorial departments, as opposed to dictating to them how things should go.

Has it been a quick study for you in the last two weeks, getting yourself up to speed on your new job?

It certainly a big change. My whole career has been dedicated to uniform enforcement and the different plainclothes units I've worked on. So for almost 20 years, I've been an investigator, as opposed to a different philosophy, a different way of doing business. It's a very good change and I'm very happy to have the opportunity to undertake it.

Have you been into the schools yet?

Personally, at this stage, no. Not yet. As community policing NCO for Nunavut, my role is really one of a co-ordinator, a facilitator, and organizer of different projects. My goal is to encourage and assist and provide material and projects for members and detachments and get them into the schools, delivering these programs like DARE and Onside. I wouldn't specifically go into Iqaluit's schools on a daily basis. That would be the role of the Iqaluit detachment and I would be a resource for them, providing the background materials and the funding to deliver those programs.

Is the DARE program fairly widespread throughout Nunavut?

DARE is something that we've had here in Nunavut since 1998 ... currently we have 500 children across the North are participating in the DARE program. It's delivered by RCMP officers who have had the training, at a facility in the South, and they basically go into the school and deliver this program. Currently we have it in 12 communities ... it basically provides youth with the skills to combat the peer pressure associated with substance abuse, specifically alcohol and marijuana. Those things that tend to become introduced to them when they get into the Grade 5 or 6 level.

Are you hoping to expand the program to more communities in Nunavut?

Oh absolutely. We've made some good headway over the last three years, but my goal would be to see it implemented in every Nunavut community and have facilitators or RCMP instructors to deliver to the youth.

What about Onside?

The Onside program is a little different in that it's a program intended to enhance communication between police and youth. Youth are a major component in our policing strategies nowadays.

We're looking at ways to bring the police and youth together in more of a partnership situation.

Basically it's a program delivered by any RCMP officer in any community ... it's based on school attendance and performance and with a strong emphasis on abstaining from alcohol and drugs.... The typical award is that a youth gets to attend a sporting event with one of the officers. Specifically, we've built relationships with the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Montreal Canadiens and the Ottawa Senators. Typically, a youth that was successful in the Onside program would accompany an officer to see a game -- in Ottawa for instance. It has a broader application and a lot of variables on a community by community basis.

Personally, what do you want to see as your legacy from your time in this position?

Basically I want to see the programs that we have continue to develop and expand. Things like Onside and DARE. Programs like community constables and auxiliary constables, they're already entrenched in our system, but I'd like to see them expand and have more participation at the detachment level, and community-based programs like restorative justice is one that I'd like to see expanded through Nunavut.... If I could be remembered for one specific thing, it would be to see that particular program be widespread throughout Nunavut by the end of my term.

If you got to take a kid to an Onside-sponsored event, who would you be going to see: the Leafs, the Habs or the Senators?

Well, that's a biased question. If I had my choice, it would be the Boston Bruins. But I would have to say I would like to see the Senators.

That being said, I would expect there would be some latitude. Hopefully we could accommodate the youth with one of those three teams.