Hi, my name is Ricardo and I interviewed someone that had the same passion as me, which was being an RCMP officer.

The person I interviewed was Michael Mclaughlin an RCMP officer, his role is to make sure the public is informed about police issues. I chose to interview an RCMP officer because when I get older I am thinking to actually work as an RCMP officer and this answered some questions that I would have wanted to ask one day. What I learned from this interview is that being an RCMP isn’t easy and that it can really be difficult at times; for example, Mr. Mclaughlin said that one of the negatives is having to do extra paperwork. This connects to my passions since I now know that being an RCMP isn’t just like a regular job but more of a hard-working job and that makes me more intitled to try to be an RCMP officer in the future.

 

This is what I said on an email I sent:

Hi, Community Police Station my name is Ricardo Juarez and I am a student at Riverside Secondary School in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia. I wanted to ask you if you could help me with my Community Connection project as I have to interview someone by email that has a passion related to mine.  I am interested in becoming an RCMP in the future and wanted to ask if you could answer 6 simple questions I have to ask for my assignment. I really look forward to hearing back from you. Please let me know if this the right email I could send my questions to.

 

Questions:

Why are you passionate about your job?

I have a strong sense of ethics and morality, and I feel that should be the root of every police officer.  My particular job is to make sure that the public is informed about police issues.  There are constant and evolving sources of misinformation when it comes to policing, and I feel that it’s important to educate people who are genuinely curious and open-minded.  It’s also important to push back against people who deliberately spread misinformation for their own purposes.

 

What obstacles have you faced to get you where you are today?

There have been many.  When I was first interested in policing I was turned away because I am white and male.  When I finally joined, I had to make the decision to change careers and uproot my life.  During the career, I’ve at times been treated unfairly by managers, had clashes with co-workers, been spat on (literally and figuratively) by the public, been seriously hurt on the job, and faced enormous levels of stress.  In spite of that, I still believe that I’m in the right place.  I see many people who I work with that I admire and who make me want to be a better person.

 

What advice would you pass on to someone interested in what you are doing?

Work hard, maintain balance between work, personal life and health, and always be guided by strong moral principles.  Do the right thing rather than the easy thing.  If you build a reputation for doing the right thing, you will be forgiven when you inevitably screw something up.  If you’re constantly cutting corners or people don’t trust you, they will tear you apart when you make a mistake.

 

Would you be open to further contact from Riverside students and if so, how can someone contact you?

Yes.  The best way to contact me is by this email: michael.mclaughlin@rcmp-grc.gc.ca

 

What is the difference between an RCMP officer and a Police Officer?

In many cases, a police officer in the RCMP and a municipal police office are doing almost exactly the same job.  Coquitlam Detachment operates in a way that’s very similar to Vancouver Police or Port Moody Police.  The main difference is that a RCMP officer also has a lot of other responsibilities and can do different jobs.  For instance, if there’s a disaster that needs a police force, the federal government calls in the RCMP.  Also, you probably know that the United States has the FBI, Homeland Security, and the Secret Service.  In Canada, those jobs are done by the RCMP.

Is there anything you dislike about being an RCMP officer?

It’s a big organization that’s been around a long time, and that comes with both positives and negatives.  The biggest negatives are the extra paperwork and powerful bureaucracy.  It’s frustrating sometimes when many of our rules and regulations come from headquarters in Ottawa.  Those regulations can seem out-of-touch with the realities of policing in BC and Coquitlam in particular.  Ironically, some of those struggles and frustrations that we share as RCMP officers bring us together.  Only another Mountie can truly understand what it means to be a Mountie.

 

 

 

 

Media that I felt more connected to was:

(Message back from Mr. Mclaughlin)

 

I felt more connected to this media because the officer says that he has had 14 years of experience which made me feel like I would get to really know how a day of life really is an RCMP officer and how many challenges you could face as one. Also, I’m very appreciative that Mr. Mclaughlin took his time to answer my questions for this project.

RCMP WEBSITE

 

Sourced Picture Links:

RCMP Logo

RCMP Car

RCMP Badge/Patch

RCMP Sign