Queens University & Canadian Association for Police Governance

First Nations Policing Governance Development Research Project

Some Preliminary Findings

Purpose and Methodology

• Building on past work in FN police governance: – EFFECTIVE BOARD GOVERNANCE: A Handbook for Board Members and Administrators of First

Nations’ Boards, 2003– CREATING THE FUTURE: A Planning Handbook for Board Members and Administrators of First

Nations’ Boards, Dr. Larry Thomas, 2004– ABORIGINAL POLICING IN CANADA: AN OVERVIEW OF DEVELOPMENTS IN FIRST NATIONS, Don

Clairmont, September 2006 – THE PEOPLE, THE LAND, LAWS AND JURISDICTION INSTUTITONS RESOURCE: THE FIVE PILLARS OF

EFFECTIVE GOVERNANCE, Centre for First Nations Governance

Purpose and Methodology– 2009-2010 Evaluation of the First Nations Policing Program, Evaluation Directorate, Public Safety

Canada

• CAPG has strategic focus on bring FN police governance bodies into the organization: core message received informally from FN members if more useful training on governance

• CAPG has long history of partnering to build capacity through training and interaction

• General police governance training has been available through Canadian Police College (now over)and CAPG conferences

• Focus on training and development of governance capacity

Methodology

• Informal discussions with FN leaders involved with CAPG• Site visit to Kahnawà:ke• Developed interview guide• Research assistant and interviews• SA’s agreements only• 23 out of possible 37 interviews completed

First Nations Interviewed

• Akwesasne• Anshinabek• Blood Tribe• Eagle Village• Fire Hills• Huronne Wendat• Kahnawa:ke• Kitigan Zibi• Katavik/Kuujjuaq• Lac Seul• Lakeshore

• Mashteuiatsh• Naskapi• North Peace• Rama• Six Nations• Stl’atl’imx• Timiskaming• Treaty Three• Tsu T’ina• United Chiefs & Council of

Manitoulin

Additional Material

• Gathered some by-laws• Occasional presentations• Material on chief evaluations gathered to

support process

What we heard

• Oversight is complicated, often involving people who know each other and have many roles to play

• Oversight, management and governance overlap and become confusing

• Distinction between policy setting and operations is a continual problem

What we heard

• Tri-partite agreement creates instability• Many board members feel ill equipped to do

their jobs• Policing challenges are complex with few easy

answers

What we heard

• No resources for training• Instability of membership and turn over kill

collective memory• Many of the challenges of governance do not

fit into nice yes/no categories, but require wisdom and contextual sensitivity

Some Conclusions: Big Picture

• Practice varies dramatically across the country, but core issues common

• Poor sharing of practice• No vision of what to do: formal versus

experiential learning

Issues that Were Identified

• Understanding role• Training resources• Political/community interface and interference• Provinces inconsistent• Evaluation tools for chief of police

Issues that Were Identified

• Cultural sensitivity in process and decision-making: noted but with few specifics

• Little time or tools to share practical experience• Need for training is continuous, not just on

appointment• Using manuals and documents only gets you so far –

need to hear from others• Much training is chapter and verse when the reality

is often vague and messy

Preliminary Thoughts on Training Strategy

• Need to move from formal/written to experiential/verbal

• A body of knowledge is out there and growing• Ways to share experience and workshop

problems is key• Need basics, chapter and verse, etc, but only a

start• Process is continuous

What works in an experiential learning world?

• Stories – call them case studies but they are stories

• Sharing – getting what has been developed into one place and making it available – no wheels needs to be invented twice

• Face-to-face – workshops that address real life issues and solutions

How to Make this Happen

• Resources are needed• Central role of CAPG (subject matter expert on police

governance) and FNCAP• Developing a central repository of learning practices:

policies, evaluations etc. • Developing face-to-face workshops around issues to

be discussed with learning support• Looking to social media to develop new tools• Seeking funding

Andrew GrahamAdjunct Professor

School of Policy StudiesQueens’ University

www.andrewbgraham.ca andrew.graham@queensu.ca