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6- The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday A pril 5, 2006 OPINION & LETTERS The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5567 Classified Advertising: 845-3824, ext. 224 Circulation: 845-9742 Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: Canadian Circulations Audit Board Member THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: Recognized far Excellence by Aocna Ontario Community ?wspapers Association /C 7 V ,* A Canadian C Newspapers J L 111) wk I ATHENA ® C & y |oakville galleries | SK o The Oakville, Milton Suburban Newspapers of America ymca O A X V lL S Jg l'^S 3 « S r! R c £ 3 V fa r U t k I ......... O A K W U * m Q `i .S J .I v ' IB® Canadian Champion, Milton Shopping News, Times, Mississauga News, Napanee Guide, Newmarket/Aurora Era-Banner, Northumberland News, North York Mirror, Oakville Beaver, Oakville Shopping News, Oldtimers Hockey News, Orillia Today, Oshawa/Whitby/Clarington Port Perry This Week, Owen Sound Tribune, Palmerston Observer, Peterborough This Week, Picton County Guide, Richmond Hill/Thomhill/Vaughan Liberal, Scarborough Mirror, StouffvilleAJxbridge Tribune, Forever Young, City of York Guardian IAN OLIVER Publisher NEIL OLIVER AssociatePublisher JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief RODJERRED ManagingEditor KELLY MONTAGUE AdvertisingDirector DANIEL BAIRD AdvertisingManager TERI CASAS Business Manager MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager RIZIEROVERTOLLI PhotographyDirector CHARLENE HALL Director ofDistribution ALEXANDRIA CALHOUN Circ. Manager Metroland Printing, Publishing & Distributing Ltd., Includes: Ajax/Plckerjng Weft's Advertiser, Alliston Herald/Courier, Arthur Enterprise News, Barrie Advance, Brampton Guardian, Burlington Post, Burlington Shopping News, Caledon Enterprise, City Parent, Colllngwood/Wasaga Connection, East York Mirror, Erin Advocate/Country Routes, Etobicoke Guardian, Flamborough Review, Georgetown Independent/Acton Free Press, Ham'ston Review, Huronia Business Times, Lindsay This Week, Markham Economist & Sun, Midland/Penetanguishlne Mirror, Milton Tougher penalty warranted Recent revelations that Halton Regional Police Deputy Chief Mike Kingston lied about having a university degree on four occasions since 1999 makes us question whether the punishment fit his `crimes'. Up until last week, the 29-year veteran of Halton' s force gave us no reason to consider him anything other than a model officer who had worked his way up the ranks of the service with good old fashioned hard work. Had it not been for a letter submitted to the region' s police services board 13 months ago, we might still believe that. The Ontario Civilian Commission on Police Services (OCCPS) had this to say about Kingston' s actions: "The first misrep resentation in 1999 set the stage for a series of deceits. Each instance of deceit built on the previous one. Each was an ethical breach that, over time, became more diffi cult to undo without considerable risk." We still believe Chief Ean Algar and the police board' s assessment of Mike Kingston as a good police officer; we just aren't sure if we can trust the deputy chief after he perpe trated the same lie four times in less than six years. We find it disturbing the only thing pre venting Kingston from a demotion or sus pension is that the police service is in the midst of replacing the retiring chief and can't afford to be without two of its most senior officers simultaneously. Equally disturbing is the slap on the wrist of lost vacation time the deputy chief received for his lies. In a profession built on public trust, perception is reality. Kingston's light sentence gives the appearance of a police service afraid to do the right thing -- demote a senior officer found to have repeatedly made a mockery of the service and dishonoured the uniform. Kingston' s `crime' was-not the unwise decision of an inexperienced and immature new recruit. It was the conscious decision of a veteran police officer in his mid-to-late 40s with more than two decades of policing experience under his belt. What message does the deputy chiefs actions and the almost negligible penalty send to Halton' s lower ranking police offi cers? What message does it send to the pub lic? Kingston does the police service' s repu- · tation further harm by admitting that he will seek financial reimbursement for the courses he is taking in order to complete the degree he lied about. Had it not been for the mysterious letter that exposed his exaggerations last year, the deputy chief said he might have applied for the chiefs job. To that end, Kingston doesn't sound remorseful for what he did; he just sounds sorry he was caught. The Oakville Beaver welcomes letters from, its readers. Letters will be edited for clarity, length, legal considerations and grammar. In order to be published all letters must contain the name, address and phone number of the author, tetters should be addressed to The Editor, Oakville Beaver, 467 Speers Rd., Oakville, ON, L6K 3S4, or via e-mail to editor@oakvillebeaver.com. The Beaver reserves the right to refuse to publish a letter. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Deputy Chief's false resume raises serious questions about credibility I read with some dismay the article regarding Halton Deputy Chief Mike Kingston and his falsification of his educa tional record for promotional purposes. This reminded me of a Toronto Police sergeant who, reacting to similar pressures concerning career and promotional oppor tunities, built a lie around his educational achievements. Toronto's response: He was charged and convicted criminally and demoted in rank. The reasoning was that he achieved his promotion through a falsification of his educational level. Deputy Kingston achieved promotion through several levels and each time he lived the lie of his formally recognized edu cation. How many officers failed to be promoted in these competitions due to a less formal education? How can this deputy command those he jumped over as a result of lying about his educational standards? In Toronto, a staff sergeant was demoted because he cheated on his exam and it was asked, did he cheat on his other promo tions? Should Halton's police be led by some one who has altered his resume in order to , be promoted in advance of those who were more honest about their achievements? Do we wish to have someone with faked credentials attain success in the process as opposed to those who were more honest? Yes, he was punished to some degree and has shown some credibility by acknowledging his transgression but, if I was working for him and lost out on a pro motion due to his falsified records, I doubt if I would listen to any management deci sions by him. It's a matter of ethics and credibility. LANCE NAISMITH Pud f WHCfli T HIS? /1 HID T H E -AM) N D W YoukE w V ID E O G A M E O W U jE R S BY STEVE NEASE snease@haltonsearch.com Deputy Chief should pay for his lesson Re: Deputy Chief' s past isn' t all it was cracked up to be" , Oakville Beaver, March 31. I have a suggestion for Deputy Chief Mike Kingston. If he's intent on "going through a period of atonement or penance," and wants to "rebuild some credibility," he should start by paying for his missing university credits out of his own funds, rather than seeking reimburse ment from the public purse. JOHN TAYLOR The Oakville Beaver is a member of the Ontario Press Council. The council is located at 80 Gould St, Suite 206, Toronto, Ont., M5B 2M7. Phone (416) 340-1981. Advertising is accepted on the condition that in the event of a typographical error, that portion of advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate. The publisher reserves the right to categorize advertisements or decline. 7 So YOU'D DOYOUR J3AMEB0YS?/ HAND'm P L A Y IN G w rm /^ H O M E W O R K OVER/