In Kingston the Police are More Corrupt than the Criminals (2009)
Executive summary
The phrase "In Kingston the Police are More Corrupt than the Criminals [1]" is not directly supported by the available documents; current reporting in the supplied sources documents specific allegations, suspensions and historical problems but does not present an overarching 2009 claim that police were "more corrupt than the criminals" (available sources do not mention that exact claim). The supplied items show isolated corruption-related incidents and secrecy around senior suspensions in Kingston-area policing, including a 2009 prison riot at Millhaven and later investigations or suspensions within Kingston Police and correctional staff [2] [3] [4].
1. What the sources actually say about Kingston-area corruption
Documents in the set point to episodic problems rather than a wholesale judgment. A timeline-style account includes a May 2009 riot at Millhaven Institution that highlights violence and alleged corruption vulnerabilities at maximum-security facilities [2]. More recent material shows a 2024 joint investigation into a Kingston-area correctional officer accused of smuggling and trafficking-related offences [4]. Separately, CBC reporting describes the unexplained, prolonged suspension of a Kingston deputy police chief, which has produced local concern about secrecy and morale [3].
2. Distinguishing institutions: municipal police vs. correctional staff
The phrase in the query conflates distinct organizations. Kingston Police is a municipal force with historical background and current staffing levels described on its website and Wikipedia entry [5] [6]. Some supplied items focus instead on correctional institutions (Millhaven; a Correctional Service of Canada officer charged in 2024), which are federal institutions and employ correctional officers rather than municipal police [2] [4]. Available sources do not say municipal Kingston Police as a whole were more corrupt than criminals in 2009; they do describe isolated incidents and inquiries affecting both police leadership and correctional staff [3] [4] [2].
3. Specific incidents that feed perceptions of corruption
What fuels claims of systemic corruption are recurring themes: secrecy around investigations (the deputy chief suspension noted by CBC), criminal charges against a correctional officer, and historical disturbances in federal prisons that reveal vulnerabilities. The CBC article emphasizes public frustration and speculation because the police board provided little information about Deputy Chief Matt Funnell’s suspension, noting other members had been investigated and details sometimes made public [3]. The Kingston Police site and Millhaven report document arrests, charges, and a major 2009 riot, respectively, which create a context of institutional problems in the region’s law enforcement and corrections ecosystem [4] [2].
4. What the sources do not provide
There is no direct source among the provided items that evaluates overall levels of corruption in Kingston in 2009, ranks police corruption relative to criminality, or supports the categorical statement that "the police are more corrupt than the criminals" for that year (available sources do not mention that broad 2009 claim). Also not found in current reporting are comprehensive inquiry reports, systematic corruption statistics for 2009 specific to Kingston Police, or comparative metrics between police and criminal networks for that period (available sources do not mention these).
5. Competing perspectives and possible agendas
CBC’s coverage frames secrecy as a public accountability issue, reflecting civic and association concerns that secrecy harms morale and fuels speculation [3]. Institutional websites and brief news postings (Kingston Police news, Kingston Police homepage) tend to report discrete incidents and official actions without making sweeping interpretations [4] [5]. A third perspective comes from secondary reporting about prisons (The Prison Direct), which links corrections corruption vulnerabilities to organized crime influence and to incidents like the 2009 Millhaven riot [2]. Readers should note that institutional sources may minimize systemic critique, while watchdog or independent outlets may emphasize patterns; none of the supplied pieces, however, assert the sweeping 2009 claim in the original query.
6. How to investigate this claim further
To substantiate or refute a broad 2009 allegation would require archival reporting from 2009, official inquiry documents, police-service board minutes, court records, and Freedom of Information releases covering Kingston Police and federal corrections for that year—materials not present in the current set (available sources do not mention these deeper records). The supplied sources do suggest lines of inquiry: look for 2009-era local news archives on Kingston Police conduct, provincial inquiry reports, and judicial or disciplinary records tied to both municipal officers and correctional staff [3] [2] [4].
7. Bottom line for readers
The supplied documents document concerning incidents and secrecy that can produce the appearance of widespread corruption, but they do not prove the categorical proposition that Kingston police were "more corrupt than the criminals" in 2009. The claim is stronger than the supplied evidence; readers seeking a definitive answer will need targeted records from 2009 and formal investigations or oversight findings, which are not included in the current sources (available sources do not mention a definitive 2009 finding).