By KIM REID ,
the Georgian
Editor's Note: the following feature covers several aspects of the history of policing in the Bay St. George area.
The Newfoundland Rangers were the first official police force in this province and in Stephenville prior to joining Confederation in 1949. Many of these officers became RCMP officers later on and the Georgian was able to track down one Ranger who told us many stories of his life as an officer of the law.
Expedite Howard, now retired in Stephenville, trained as a Newfoundland Ranger at the age of 18. Being a Ranger wasn't however the first career choice of Mr. Howard as he started out as a teacher in Fleur de Lys. After his first winter in a successful school house he met a Newfoundland Ranger who spoke of his experiences and how to apply.
The next day Mr. Howard sent a telegram to St. John's to apply. Only 24 hours later he promptly received a response informing him that he had been accepted and was to relocate to St. John's for training.
The rest, as they say, is history.
Mr. Howard traveled to St. John's for seven months of training with approximately 10 other young men. The average salary at that time was $1.75 a day but being young and ambitious, Mr. Howard jumped at the chance to take his first placement in Labrador where he would be paid $2 a day.
A schooner took the young Ranger to Hebron, Labrador where he says for his 16 and a half month stay he never had to buy or cook a meal for himself.
"I was treated like a celebrity by those people. They always invited me into their homes for meals and it was like heaven," recalls Mr. Howard.
From there he was transferred to Northwest River, Goose Bay and then to Stephenville Crossing around 1943.
"I was stationed in Stephenville Crossing with two other Rangers but I didn't really like it there. I called St. John's and told them my situation and they had me transferred to Stephenville shortly after."
In the mid 40's, Stephenville's Newfoundland Ranger detachment was located on West Street, now called the West Bridge House. A number of the officers lived and worked out of the same building where those being charged were kept in cells in the basement.
At the time Mr. Howard recalls that there were no serious crimes to be dealt with in the area. All policing was done on foot.
In 1949, Newfoundland joined Confederation and the Newfoundland Rangers were given the option of traveling to Regina to complete training to become an RCMP officer.
So, with a new uniform and a promotion, Mr. Howard returned to Labrador. After another short stay he returned to the Port au Port two-man detachment in Berry Head. Not long after he had arrived however, his partner left the detachment and he served the area alone for three years.
As most know, the Port au Port peninsula is not an area you would want to travel by foot, and hiring a horse and carriage was costly. So, Mr. Howard bought a horse for $50 and named him Dandy.
In his next term, Mr. Howard returned once again to Stephenville (and sold his horse) but found transportation by foot could be a little tedious at times. Stephenville received its first motorized police vehicle when Mr. Howard informed a superior at the St. John's office that he would be returning to his detachment with one of their two motorcycles (with an attached side car), like it or not.
He got his wish and sent the new vehicle via the Newfie Bullet to Stephenville.
Mr. Howard recalls that RCMP officers had good relationships with officers working on the Air Force Base. Most crimes they responded to were low key fights in overcrowded clubs between GI's, but says he never found them to be overly rough.
"I would just walk into these really crowded clubs and tell the GI's they could fight all they want, just not here. And with that they would just disperse and go elsewhere."
Mr. Howard says he really enjoyed working with the Military Officers and would frequently socialize with them and eat in their mess halls.
"I was sorry to see them all go when the base closed. I was always invited into the Base Commander's house for a drink."
Mr. Howard also recalls a gesture of friendship which could have gotten him in a lot of trouble.
"I had been visiting the officers and one had left the building for about ten minutes. He returned and I got on my motorcycle with the side-car covered over with a tarp and drove home. The next day I was on my way to Port au Port and realized there was something in the side-car. When I looked there was about 12 bottles of liquor in there. If I had been seen with that in my car people might have thought I was selling it!"
The bottles lasted him quite a number of years and was quite a gesture considering that no alcohol was permitted to leave the base.
Quite sick of policing, Mr. Howard left the RCMP about 15 years ago. But back then, he believes policing was better than it is today and situations seemed to be handled quite differently.
Police dogs
Dogs have been playing a significant role in a variety of policing areas with the RCMP.
Early in the summer of 2000, Constable Marc Periard and his dog Faro, a four year old German Shepherd, were stationed in Bay St. George. Working alongside of the pair for a short time were Corporal Chris Lohnes and Chass, his five year old Belgian Shepherd. Currently, only Cst. Periard and Faro are stationed here in Stephenville.
Faro has led Cst. Periard to criminals and crime scenes and has basically been trained as a dog of all trades. Other forces around the world may have dogs specially trained for one purpose only but our local police dogs are trained to do it all.
Dogs chosen for RCMP training come from all over the world and train extensively in Alberta. A police dog can stay with the force for up to eight years as long they pass regular medical/validation exams.
Officers chosen as dog handlers must also train and prepare for a very demanding role from raising puppies to learning respect for the animal. Cst. Periard and Faro respond to approximately 120 calls per year, mostly for robberies or drug searches.
"Faro can help solve many cases by recovering stolen goods or catching a criminal in the act. Police dogs act as a support service and assist us," says Cst. Periard.
This pair has become well known around the Bay St. George area with numerous public appearances at schools and community events.
Detachment to District
Newfoundland's west coast was the first RCMP patrolled region in the province to make a switch from detachment to district policing. The decision to change to the Bay St. George District in 1996 was based on a review of an area in New Brunswick who were the first to make such a change in their own area.
The Bay St. George District now covers the areas between Port aux Basques, Stephenville, Piccadilly, Barachois Brook and Burgeo.
The rest of the province joined the movement in 1997 forming the Northern Peninsula District, the Gander-Lewisporte District, the Grand Falls- Windsor District, Clarenville-Bonavista District, the Burin Peninsula District, the Whitbourne-Placentia District, the Trinity-Conception District and the Avalon East District.
Policing today
The current staff sergeant at the Stephenville detachment for the Bay St. George RCMP says new technologies have changed policing significantly.
"The introduction of computers to policing has really sped up communications and the exchange of information between detachments," says SSgt. McNeil.
Of course officers no longer travel solely by foot and today use a large variety of modes of transportation such as bikes, horses, cars, SUV's, ski-doo's, boats and ATV's (and of course still use their feet when required). RCMP are also actively involved in the community, schools and fundraising groups.
Guns used by police have changed as well in the 129 years the RCMP have been in existence.
The Adams .45 First Model was used from 1874 to 1875, the Adams.45 Second Model was used from 1875 to 1886, the Enfield .478 Model 1882 was used from 1883 to 1905, the Colt .45 New Service was used from 1904 to 1954 and the Smith and Wesson .38 Military and Police was used from 1954-1996.
Today the standard RCMP issued gun is the Smith and Wesson 9 mm semi-automatic handgun. This sidearm holds 10 more rounds over the old .38 and has glow in the dark sights for aiming the weapon in the dark.
Constable Marc Periard and his companion Faro were introduced to the Bay St. George RCMP district only two years ago. Since then, the duo have been actively involved in the community and hot on the trail of criminals.
Expedite Howard, now retired, first came to Stephenville as a Newfoundland Ranger, the province's police force prior to joining Confederation in 1949.