But none of these can ever guarantee a subordinate police force that only answers to the body politic in exclusively good ways.
“I don't report to any politician. I don't report to the city of Vancouver, I don't report to the province of B.C. or the federal government. To me, the government of the day doesn't matter, I'll just call it how it is and be quite frank about it.”
That was the police chief of Vancouver a few years ago, saying the quiet part out loud. Democratic civilian control of an institution of violence is an illusion. These actors are, at best, temporary and conditional allies.
https://vancouversun.com/opinion/columnists/ian-mulgrew-as-politics-muddies-policing-its-past-time-to-switch-to-a-regional-force