Ep 41: An INTREPID Podsight: Bob Paulson, former Commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police

Stephanie and Craig are very excited to welcome Bob Paulson, RCMP Commissioner between 2011-2017 to the podcast. This is a rich discussion: anyone with an interest in national security policing will want to listen -- but not just the national security side of things. We start by covering Bob's career and experience in the RCMP; what it's like to run the RCMP; the structural challenges the force faces; how policing has changed (and especially the disclosure requirements); and the skill sets for a modern RCMP. We then dive into the national security side of things. Yes, of course we cover intelligence-to-evidence, this time from the perspective of a police officer. We talk about RCMP/CSIS cooperation and how it has improved and where the challenges still lie. And we get into the weeds on the challenges of terrorism investigations, and especially investigating foreign terrorist fighter returnees. We also talk about the "going dark" issue -- encryption and its effects on investigations. And we address: what it's like to do anti-terrorism in a zero tolerance environment, where public perception of the relative risk from crimes tends to emphasize terrorism over other pressing issues; cyber crime and policing; and the importance of the independence of police from political intervention. Did we cover enough? If we did, give us a shout-out on iTunes reviews and tell others about Intrepid! And thank you to former Commissioner Paulson for becoming an Intrepid alum.