The Red Wall: A Woman in the RCMP

by Jane Hall

The Red A Woman in the RCMP, by Jane Hall, is the personal story of a woman who joined the RCMP in the seventies. As one of the first few female members, the author experienced the birth, maturity, and decline of a courageous movement within the RCMP to include females within its ranks. Ms. Hall's war stories are fascinating sometimes funny, sometimes sad, but always revealing. As well, we gain a historical and political perspective from one who was there.

356 pages, Paperback

First published July 20, 2007

Reviews

[Valerie]

This book is a must-read for any past, current or future member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. As a former troop-mate of Jane's, reading this book brought back warm and some not-so-warm memories.
As one of the first all female troops in the RCMP, we made history and this book captures the experience.
It is humourous at times, moving at others, and will leave the reader with a realistic picture of what life was like through the eyes of a female member of the RCMP in those early years of admitting women to the RCMP ranks.
Prepare to be entertained.

[Krystina · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Red Wall: A Woman in the RCMP by Jane Hall is a book that looks back in some detail at her own personal journey, as one of the first female members of the RCMP, and her career through policing from the 1970s onwards. In those years came the sad changes made in politics that eroded the justifiable and needed power that the RCMP had and used to bring justice to the wrong doers. (As Mrs. Hall puts it, the major detrimental changes started coming when the Canadian Criminal Justice System was changed from being based on Justice to being based on Law) Many of the reasons why people think so low and criticise the RCMP and the police for ineptness, apparent abuse of power, and more, today is because of these changes, and to me the reader, it is rather sickening to read about the changes in the law and in politics that changed the effectiveness of the RCMP.


While there may be one or two things here with which I may not quite agree (I can't quite put my finger on it though, I think it could be some of her views on traditional society that slightly bothers me), I like her honesty. I would say that in her views she was, when she was younger, probably a very mild supporter of the Women's Liberation movement. One of the things I especially appreciated was how she told that after she was married and had two children, she realised how much she would have missed, how much fulfillment and joy she would not have had, if she had of pursued how she originally thought her ideal life would be, and not married or had children. There is much I think we can learn from her- and the older generation, wisdom that only comes from experience.


In telling of her life as an RCMP constable, she does a good job. The book is filled with details and is an excellent look into the RCMP and the Canadian Criminal Justice system. (Which, pre- Charter, was less complex and just as effective as the American Criminal Justice system. Interestingly, I think the way Canada's Justice system works reflects our British heritage, while the American systems reflects their republican-style government) Mrs. Hall has a very good grasp of the important traditions and heritage that Canada has inherited from our British mother, and the author provides such background throughout her book. I think she really understands why the rule of law and common law are the way they are: because we were given them intrinsically from Britain.


However, there is another side of policing which the author is duty bound to give for the sake of accuracy, a more sad side. Several times she talks about investigations or cases where there were murders and etc that she had to investigate. I knew about such crimes beforehand, so it was no shock (and it makes me all the more supportive of our police, who do put themselves on the line to solve cases and expose themselves to danger, for the greater good of the country), however I would not suggest this book to anyone under 17 or 18, or unless the book is previewed by parents first. The author is not usually terribly explicit in these aforementioned cases, (although in one she does give more information than needed) but she does not skirt the subject either. While it is not pleasant to read about such topics in any form, it does provide an accurate picture of what police work is like. I think it would be a greater injustice to the police to hide from these details and ignore them. I did like how in the one more detailed case she talked about, she mentioned that her own reactions to the immoral acts she saw happening, those reactions being ones of repulsion and disgust.


That being said, what I cannot really excuse is the several times the author makes mention of practical jokes that other RCMP officers played on each other or people they didn't like (including one or two eye brow raising ones in which she herself was involved). Several of these practical jokes were crude. While again I don't think she is terribly explicit in detailing them, they really weren't necessary. There are also several really bad swear words either used (when she was quoting other peoples' conversations or her own initial reactions to things, generally) point blank or alluded too which I must warn about as well. They are here and there throughout the book.


To sum it up, I really enjoyed the policing aspects of the book, the parts where she talked about the RCMP, her job, and the traditions and rich history of the RCMP, but I would have to give this book a slightly lower rating because of the unneeded content. I would also advise age appropriateness and due caution for the parts of the book where she talks about some of the sad and more "mature" cases, and ultimately parental pre-viewing for anyone under 18.

[Shirley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was a little slow but a good account of one of the first women in the RCMP.

[Bill Sharp · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book a lot.