That was a pathetic response (or complete lack thereof) from the RCMP. Even if they had "higher priority calls", they could have rolled a unit from a neighbouring community, even if that meant a 20-30 min response. Though still unacceptably long, this would have been better than no response at all.

I completely understand your desire to file complains and believe they are fully warranted.

Please keep us updated if you don't mind. I would personally be quite curious to find out what answers you'll get.

Yikes 🙁 Glad he wasn't able to get in.

Just curious whether you had anything special done to your door/home, when this happened, as far as home security, beyond deadbolt & steel door?..(feel free to leave out any identifying details).. if the guy was not drunk, do you think he would have been able to get in?..

Good to hear your okay and that your security held up. I have always been a believer that it is a mistake to think that the police will protect you. They only show up after the crime, and in your case, not at all. You are your best protection and quite often, your only protection.

GM1

Yikes 🙁 Glad he wasn't able to get in.

Just curious whether you had anything special done to your door/home, when this happened, as far as home security, beyond deadbolt & steel door?..(feel free to leave out any identifying details).. if the guy was not drunk, do you think he would have been able to get in?..

I don't think my security is anything special. Dual locks on outside screen door (which opens outward to make kicking in difficult), then double locks on main door, one of which is a deadbolt. This backed up with a full security system, and the best security in the world, extremely nosy neighbors.

This guy was so drunk that I'm convinced he didn't even know where he was, so if he was sober I'm sure it wouldn't have happened. A sober person would have likely tried a window, in which case the security system would have went off and and things would have gotten interesting in a hurry.

I'm thinking about pricing out steel doors and frames, and putting L brackets on the inside of basement windows so 2x4's can be placed across them to prevent window entry in the event that things ever really hit the fan. It sounds silly considering this is a normally a safe neighborhood, but in light of a non-RCMP response I have to start considering more extreme security ideas.

Dogs are the way I want to go, but my work schedule just doesn't make it doable.

I think its funny actually. When I bought my house the previous owner never locked his doors and it took him 2 days to find the keys for the place because he never used them. When I moved in, my neighbors thought I was nuts when I started replacing windows, re-enforcing doors and putting dual locks on everything, they laughed at the idea of security system. I was the talk of the neighborhood. Now,only a few years later things around town have gotten worse and rather then laugh neighbors often stop by to ask where I got my doors and windows from and who they should get to install them.

Bit of an Update...

Complaints were filed with local MP, RCMP Oversight Committee and Staff Sergeant in charge of local Detachment.

Heard from local Staff Sergeant this morning and have a meeting set up, in my home, next week. The only reason we're meeting in my home is the Staff Sergeant wants to hear the Voice Mail I have of the RCMP telling me that they were busy with Higher Priority calls while I had a Break and Entry in Progress.

I Imagine I kind of have the local RCMP backed into a corner on this one, by sending copies of my complaint to both their oversight committee and our local MP. So it'll be interesting to see what kind of story he gives me.

As this is a rather rural area, and I am familiar with Small Town Politics I have to wonder what kind of fall out or repercussions, if any, I'll suffer as a result of this complaint. I'm sure it'll be interesting to say in the least.

I'll post any developments here 🙂

I wouldn't fear backlash too much. The RCMP's reputation hasn't been stellar as of late and the situation of not getting assistance following a 911 call wouldn't pass the "Globe and Mail" test. You've demonstrated restraint and judicious decision making in attempting to solve the issue responsibly. If somehow this is turned against you, the media would love to hear the story.

The RCMP has too much to lose in not addressing it fairly.

Had a Face to Face meeting with the RCMP's Local Operations NCO yesterday, he gave me a story about what happened the night/morning in question, defending the non-response. Then a song and dance about limited Resources. Although I understand the difficult position he is in, it doesn't change the facts of the case in question. In the end the meeting was a waste of time and we had to agree to disagree. The sit down was civil but it was clear we weren't going to agree.

The Civilian Oversight Committee has assigned an RCMP investigator of their own to look into the matter. They'll keep me updated.

My Local MP and I have been playing phone tag. He is quite dismayed by the situation as he has a house here in town himself. I Spoke with his Liason/Assistant (whatever) today as the MP was in the House of Commons Question Period when I called. I should hear from my MP again in the next couple days. Hopefully we actually get to talk this time in stead of just trading voice mails 🙂

It's been interesting...

Thank you for dealing with this, you're doing this for pretty much every rural Canadians.

I was thinking that the whole situations I have playing out here really doesn't fit into a Prepper kind of forum, but at the same time I guess it shows a real world example of why we need to prepare.

Alright, since my last post I have spoke to my Local MP and have advised him of all events. He is quite dismayed by the whole situation and asked for my permission to forward my complaint along with his own concerns (as he happens to own property here in town) to a few other MP's, the Public Safety Minister and a few Provincial heads. I'll be receiving copies of all correspondence that happens.

Had a second sit down with the local Detachments Operations NCO, he presented me with a pile of documents that he expected me to sign that simply outlined my complaint and the events that happened on the day in question. I flatly refused to sign anything and gave him my own written response to his attempt to sweep all this under the rug. He then left frustrated and later returned with a tape recorder for a third sit down meeting in which we once again went over all the details of the attempted break in and the RCMP's non-response. All recordings, documents, and details of this matter have now been handed to a third party for outside investigation.

I will no longer be dealing with the local detachment and their personnel, from this point on we will both be dealing directly with this outside investigator.

Had I signed the documents the RCMP gave me, then all investigation would have stopped and by signing I would have consented to closing the matter. Due to things happening at the Federal and Provincial Level I simply couldn't sign anything that might close the investigation. Unknown to the local RCMP, Federal and Provincial Ministers are just starting to get involved in this matter, so I have no choice but to stretch this out until all parties are fully involved.

To be perfectly honest, I really don't expect anything to come out of this. But if I can rattle enough cages maybe next time someone calls the RCMP for help, maybe, just maybe, the RCMP might actually show up.

Thank you for the updates and do keep us informed if you can.. Very interesting to see what will come out in the wash.

I was thinking that the whole situations I have playing out here really doesn't fit into a Prepper kind of forum, but at the same time I guess it shows a real world example of why we need to prepare.

I believe this very wells fit in a preppers' forum for the same reason you mentioned. I also read today an article about a senior lady waiting 6.5 hours for an ambulance in the suburbs of Montreal after she broke her femur. Like your incident, this was a complete failure of the emergency system. I agree that sometimes, local resources are tied up, but leaving someone waiting is unacceptable. Even units responding from another community would have arrived faster in both your case and the senior lady's.

The point is that even in "normal" times we may be left hanging by emergency responders, so the situation would simply be worse during any kind of crisis. Preppers - heck people overall - need to be better prepared to handle emergencies on their own, may it be through advanced first aid training or by having the means to defend themselves (and be mostly immune to criminal justice if reasonably acting in self-defence).

Hang in there and keep up the fight. I'm glad you contacted your representatives, maybe things will change, eventually.

Well the RCMP Reports are in and all Investigations are now closed.

In reports dated May 11th the RCMP investigators cleared themselves of any wrong doing or Negligence in failing to show up at a Break and Entry in progress at my address on January 1st of this year (no surprise there) and made me out to be a wack job/loser who was simply wasting their time (my interpretation). The Blue Wall of Silence strikes again.

I know several RCMP Officers, they are good people and I have nothing against any of them, but after this situation and all I've been through as a result of it, I can honestly say I have no respect for the RCMP as an organization. In fact, I think I feel sorry for the good people who work for them.

The lesson from all this (something we already know) never depend on the RCMP to save you. When seconds count, they're hours away, assuming they show up at all.

Sorry to hear that you didn't get much satiywith the report. Having the context of the event in writing, along with this written answer remains valuable IMHO. This in the event that someone ever (unfortunately) find themselves in a position of having to resolve to force to protect self. Your incident could be used as a reference (precedent?) to demonstrate that one couldn't realistically rely only on police response as they may not turn up and that, therefore, violence was necessary to stop the aggression.