Ottawa police officer honoured as a trailblazer

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A lifetime of community, national and international police work has led Isobel Granger many places during nearly three decades of fighting crime.

After an unlikely start to policing in Africa, Granger rose to the level of Staff Sgt in Ottawa before heading off on a mission earlier this year to investigate crimes against humanity in a faraway land. She spoke to the Sun after being inducted into the Order of Merit of the Police Forces by the Governor General on Friday.

Q: You used to be a police officer in Zimbabwe. How long have you been in policing?

This is my 27th year. Five years were in Rhodesia, which became Zimbabwe. I was the first non-white to join the white ranks because in those days, they had two rank structures that were segregated: one section for whites and one section for blacks.

Q: How'd you manage to become the first?

"My father's lastname was English," Granger said.

"I'm a mixed race. And I knew they didn't hire people of mixed race so I applied because I knew they would expect to see a white girl.

So when I walked in, I thought that they'd throw me out. I was just doing it for shock value. (But) then he actually started interviewing me, and asking me why I'd apply!

I said: 'because there's nothing anybody else can do that I can't do; so why would you disclude me?'

We had a debate, and I didn't think he'd call me back.. (he did)

Q: What values drew you in to police work?

"Growing up in segregation, people were treated differently. I always felt a strong calling from a very young age. And I didn't like the way some of the people were treated. Years later, I did this idea and gave it a shot to be a police officer.

It just kinda happened, I didn't look back since."

Q: What was it like with the Ottawa Police when you joined?

It was a challenge but I also had a lot of support. The surprising thing is that a lot of the support I got came from the people that I had been led to expect would probably be not welcoming.

Why? Because I had been forewarned that they were the "good old boys."

Q: What are your job duties now?

"I'm (working in) Cambodia right now. I'm one of the investigators for the former Khmer Rouge's war crimes," she said, adding she only returned to Canada to receive the award from the Governor General.

"I've been there for eight months and I'm an investigator; so I interview former survivors of the war."

Q: So do you know how long you're going to be in Cambodia for?

Well, I've been there eight months and I've got another four months to go. But I'm not sure...it's a hybrid mission. We had to take special training to go over.

Q: When you do come back, what will you end up doing?

I could come back as a platoon commander," she said, mentioning other potential job titles. "I know people stress about where they're going to go. I don't," she said. "You're going where you are. I've never had a job at OPS that made me feel like it wasn't what I wanted to do.

Did you have to give out tickets?

"As a Constable, yes. Speeding."

Q: So what's the best part of the job, in general?

The perception used to be our skills were not transferable. But we wear so many hats. No two days is the same. You actually get to help people at their lowest. You intervene in times when nobody else will, and you don't think twice about it because you know that you're their last stop.

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