Tony Bernardo is the Executive Director of the Canadian Shooting Sports AssociationSir Robert Peel’s Principles of Policing remind us that law enforcement exists “to prevent crime and disorder” and that police efficiency is measured not by arrests but by “the absence of crime and disorder.”By that measure, police forces across Canada all get a failing grade.Recent tragedies in York Region reveal the massive gap between principle and practice, and between the expectations of police and the realities of the human survival instinct..MINDERHOUD: When conservatives concede the classroom to gender identity warriors.The first case is almost unthinkable. A 12-year-old boy, already out on bail for other violent offences, is charged with attempted murder after a broad-daylight shooting in Markham.“Once again, we’re seeing individuals released on bail involved in serious crimes within our community,” Police Chief Jim MacSween complained.Peel’s fifth principle demands that police “maintain public favour not by catering to public opinion but by impartial service to the law.”.When bail policies release violent offenders back into our neighbourhoods, it is the community’s confidence in police and the justice system that breaks down.People begin to wonder whether Peel’s vision of “public approval” and “public cooperation” can be sustained when children barely out of elementary school are shooting people in broad daylight.Even more devastating is the murder of Abdul Aleem Farooqi, 46, who was killed while defending his family during a home invasion..EDITORIAL: Statehood for Palestine? Why premature recognition would be a grave mistake.“He was shot while trying to protect his 4-year-old daughter who had a gun pointed at her,” said one of his employees.Premier Doug Ford lamented, “These scumbags shot him right in front of his kids.”“I think Aleem died a hero, he died saving his family. I don’t know what he could have done differently,” said Naeem Farooqi, brother of the victim..Here, Peel’s seventh principle, “the police are the public and the public are the police,” collides with biological reality.Peel envisioned a partnership between citizens and constables, but he never accounted for the raw, primal moment when a father sees a gun aimed at his 4-year-old child.In that instant, policing theory disappears, replaced by the raw animal instinct to protect one’s own..MACLEOD: Guided by principles, Alberta’s future as an independent nation.In what many view as an asinine response, Chief MacSween urged citizens to comply with the demands of home invaders.“We urge you to call 911 and do everything you can to keep yourself and loved ones safe until police arrive … but don’t engage unless absolutely necessary.”That is a recipe for disaster..How do you dial 911 when criminals have a gun pointed at your child’s head?“Hey Mr. Criminal, can you just point that somewhere else while I call the police? It will only take a minute.”Chief MacSween’s advice is to surrender to violent predators..LYTLE: Elbows up Mr. Carney.“Weakness, that is what York Region Police Chief Jim MacSween is asking for from the public. Don’t take a stand, just comply with criminals and give them what they want,” noted columnist Brian Lilley.Including your daughter’s life?Including your own life?The flaw in Chief MacSween’s argument is that it denies our natural instincts..For example, what happens when you put a squirrel in a box and then stick your hand inside? The squirrel turns your hand into hamburger. Not because it’s evil, but the squirrel perceives a threat, and its survival depends on resistance to that threat.Wander between Momma Bear and her cubs, and she will shred you without hesitation, not because she is bloodthirsty but because her natural and correct instinct is to defend her young.That instinct is unstoppable in the squirrel and the bear, just as it was unstoppable in Abdul Aleem Farooqi when he saw a gun pointed at his daughter..GWYN MORGAN: Canada’s healthcare monopoly is killing us.To expect Farooqi to retreat while strangers terrorize his children is to ask him to deny his natural instincts as well as his duty as a father.Abdul Aleem Farooqi did what every decent and honourable father would. He stood between the wolves in his home and his children.And he paid the ultimate price for doing the right thing..Chief MacSween’s demands for compliance with evil are cowardly, a total disrespect for Abdul Aleem Farooqi’s sacrifice, and disrespect for every human being’s natural instincts to protect their children.“The best defence for most people is to comply,” says York Police Chief MacSween.Chief MacSween, would you comply if the gunman pointed a gun at your daughter?.MEJIA / ALIAKBARI: Court’s ‘Aboriginal title’ ruling further damages BC’s investment climate.Would you comply if he forced you to choose which of your children lives and which one dies?Abdul Aleem Farooqi refused to comply. He obeyed a higher law.He stood between the wolves and his child, and he paid the price that honouring that call of duty demanded..Peel’s Principles emphasize prevention, impartiality, and public cooperation, yet none of his principles erase the primal law of self-defence.The challenge is not to pit these truths against each other, but to reconcile them.Prevention (Principle 1): If violent offenders, whether 12-year-old attempted murderers or armed home invaders, were effectively restrained by a justice system aligned with Peel’s principles, families would not be forced into these impossible choices..STIRLING: Investors for Paris Compliance – barking up the wrong tree.Public Confidence (Principle 2): Confidence cannot survive if the only advice is to “comply” while criminals escalate violence. Citizens must trust that police and courts will uphold justice, but they must also trust that their right to defend their families will be honoured.Shared Responsibility (Principle 7): The police cannot be everywhere. Peel acknowledged that policing is a shared duty. When citizens rise in defence of their children, they are not rejecting the police, they are embodying the very principle Peel articulated.The deaths and shootings in York Region underscore the tension between Peel’s vision and reality. Policing is indeed “a shared responsibility,” but sharing responsibility means acknowledging that fathers, mothers, and even children will fight to survive when cornered..The squirrel in the box cannot be told to comply.The mother bear cannot be reasoned into submission.And a father cannot be expected to watch his daughter face a gun without intervening on her behalf, even if it costs him his life..MORGAN: The battle to remove porn from Alberta schools.“We know the best defence for most people is to comply [with the demands of home invaders],” York Police Chief MacSween said.To counsel citizens to comply with violent criminals shows how out of touch MacSween is with reality and our human instincts to protect our children..Would you lay down your life to protect your children?Most would do so in a heartbeat, just as Abdul Aleem Farooqi did for his daughter. For Peel’s Principles to retain any moral authority, they must be paired with laws that respect natural law, and a parent’s right and duty to protect themselves and their family..MORGAN: The battle to remove porn from Alberta schools.Anything less erodes both public trust and public safety and tells violent criminals they can do whatever they want, with no possibility of resistance.That is, to be blunt, the stupidest thing a police chief can tell the citizens he is supposedly sworn to protect and defend.Tony Bernardo is the Executive Director of the Canadian Shooting Sports Association
