Last night, Commander Mario Lamothe of the Montreal Police Service stopped by my house on his way back to Montreal after a brief vacation in Florida. The brief visit itself was an enjoyable mix of cultures. Mario is a fairly young French Canadian and I am an older American from Arkansas. He missed meeting my wife, who is ethnic Chinese, but he got to meet one of my sons. Other "cultural" differences are that Mario is thoroughly law enforcement-minded, whereas, I having spent most of my professional career in intelligence operations, not police work, have a different slant on things. The reason for Mario's visit: to prepare for his forthcoming travel to New Zealand on behalf of the Center for Asian Crime Studies, and to lecture there at the Royal New Zealand Police College on measures to control crime by ethnic Asians. Mario already knows the subject cold, and I cannot teach him anything, so why did he stop by to see me? To pick up two bottles of moonshine to give to his contacts in New Zealand, Police Commissioner Howard Broad and Chief Superintendent Neville Matthews. They like the stuff.
The reason Mario has been so successful over the years is that he focuses on people, on individuals. All too many in law enforcement see guns, badges, and laws as all the tools they need to go forth and do battle with the bad guys. There are many stories I could tell about the specifics of Mario's success in controlling Asian crime in Montreal, but suffice it to say he knows how to work people to get results.
Another reason I like to cite Mario's personal success is that his is an overall success story, too. He had to have some enlightened and good bosses along the way. They recognized his good work and they promoted him. They did good work, too.
