The Police Are Trained to Enforce an Invisible System @Business Insider

Watch on YouTube · 2026-04-14 · 29 min

0:00 Hi everyone, I'm going to be reviewing a video called What Canadian Mounties Go Through at Boot Camp. Should be fun, eh?

[video] 0:10 Nunez, in what year did we become the Royal Canadian Mounted Police? 1920. Really? That's what you're gonna give me? That's as loud as you can be? 1920. It's funny that these people actually believe that they can become police officers. The same way other people believe that they can become their job title. In reality,

0:49 You can put on the uniform and act as if you're somebody else, but physically, in this actual reality, you cannot become somebody else.

1:12 These cadets are training to become... Like robots. Yes, sir. I will do what you tell me to do. Should we go and kidnap a baby from parents? Yes, we will do that. We will do whatever you tell us. To be fair, I've never heard of... The Canadian Mounties, I don't know what they do, but the point is that they will do whatever they are told, seeing as they have no thoughts of their own.

[video] 1:39 I've seen these red uniforms.

1:52 probably in some movies.

[video] 1:54 But before they don the iconic scarlet tunic known as the Red Surge, all cadets have to graduate from the RCMP's 26-week training program, which combines intense tactical training with customs and traditions that are steeped in Canadian history. Every year, about 1,000 cadets graduate from the academy before joining the 20,000 RCMP officers serving across the country.

[video] 2:24 On a bitterly cold week in December, we spent five days at the academy, where we saw different troops at various stages of the 26-week training program.

[video] 2:36 On day one, a new troop is welcomed by the academy's commanding officer. Everybody wants you to be successful. We're incredibly happy that you're finally sitting in these seats as members.

2:46 For the most part, what they learn here is to detect natural behavior. It's not all that they learn, but it's what you mostly do when you do this job. And then... They do what they are told to those kind of people.

[video] 3:07 And we want you to be successful, but we're not going to do it for you. You have to do it for yourselves. The application process, which includes a polygraph test, can take about eight months. Everybody took a year out of your life to finally get here. We sometimes see cadets go home after 24 hours. It takes probably a couple of weeks to get used to the routine. So give it at least a couple of weeks. Work hard, have some fun, and good luck. Are we a kinder police organization? That is a comment that we actually verbally say out loud now. We're in the service industry. We're out there to serve the Canadian public. So if we create that type of environment, we're hopeful that the cadets will remember that and when they are out in their various communities, that they will continue to work with the communities as they were trained. Training happens here, at RCMP Academy Depot Division, located in Regina, Saskatchewan, about 100 miles north of the U.S. border.

[video] 4:00 It's a region of Canada known as the Prairie, where during our visit to Regina, sustained winds, combined with the low temperature, made it consistently feel about negative 25 degrees Fahrenheit.

[video] 4:12 The starting salary for a constable in the RCMP is about $53,000 a year.

4:17 The cold simply adds to the abuse. As you could see at the beginning of the video, the woman was abusing the guy. Usually it's a man, although who knows how it is in Canada. And then these people will want to let the frustration out on other people, obviously. There is all kinds of messed up stuff going on. Off camera, it's of course always worse. It's the same in the military, but probably worse. But again, I've never heard of this specific unit.

[video] 4:56 After three years, it increases to about 86,000. Applicants must be at least 19 years old and willing to relocate anywhere in Canada, including remote provinces like Yukon and Nunavut.

[video] 5:09 The Royal Canadian Mounted Police, as we know it today, was founded in 1920. The Canadian Rockets, the legendary Mounties, are the symbol of law and order in this vast domain.

5:19 Although they're called Mount... Yes, law and order. They simply follow ideas, but they really believe in them. As I said, these people actually believe that all of that is real because they live in their imagination, not in this reality. And that's how most people live.

[video] 5:38 The RCMP isn't a mounted police force. And horses are...

5:43 It's also funny that he said order, because in reality, it's the definition of chaos. Nature is the only order of this reality, and humans only create chaos. What you see right here is as chaotic as anything can get.

[video] 6:03 ...only used for ceremonial events. Here comes the mountain!

[video] 6:10 We're not what you see in the movies from Hollywood. People see the red jackets, pointy hats on black horses and they think that's what the RCMP is. But we're police officers first and foremost and I think that's probably the biggest misconception. The reality is policing back roads and small towns by yourself. We are a police force. That's the biggest message.

[video] 6:29 And it all starts here, at depot. I need you to stand up. You're under arrest for assault with a weapon. Where most of the training is focused on mastering police procedure practiced in realistic scenarios.

6:40 Where cadets play the roles of both the... And here they learn how to handcuff and... Sorry, how to arrest people. ...the officer and the suspect.

[video] 6:52 Anything that you do say to me can be used as evidence. Do you understand? Yeah, I just want you to learn I messed up. I didn't mean to. I'm not that type of person. Okay, good to know.

7:01 Yes, it's always the same. It's wrong. It's bad. Please forgive me. I will never do that again. But the question is, why did you do it in the first place?

[video] 7:14 I get a 1028-1029 prose on a Saskatchewan marker when ready. We're trying to prepare them for the realities of policing. Do you have anything on you that could hurt me or you? Policing isn't an easy profession. We make the program such that they will be physically and mentally prepared. But they also have to have common sense. They have to know their powers of arrest. They have to know the law.

7:38 So it's a real... Policing, police, politics, all of it comes from the word person, essentially. It's all connected, which means the mask that you're wearing. When you're policing an area, then you're imagining that there's policies out there which you should... defend, protect, or enforce also, of course, which is mainly their job. But they see it more so as defending maybe the constitution, the law, or whatever they imagine, seeing as it's all based on some kind of symbols that they interpreted. And then they absorb them and imagine them. But they imagine that it's all real. You have to get into their mindset. They really believe that all of it actually exists in this reality.

8:37 It would be very hard for them to actually confront reality and realize that they are basing everything on their imagination. It would shatter their mind.

[video] 8:49 Combination of two things that need to happen all at once. Male and female cadets train together at Depot. and even face each other in Police Defensive Tactics Training, or PDT.

[video] 9:03 Obviously in policing, we don't choose our opponent. We're not going to always be matched with a normal size like you would see in a sport of boxing or MMA. Most of our cadets come here without any background at all. Some of them have never been involved in a fight, so it's very difficult.

9:18 I've already talked enough about this, but learning how to punch or kick also is useless.

9:27 Anything else that you will do will be more effective than punching and kicking. Punching is the worst thing that you can do anyway.

[video] 9:35 It's difficult for them to understand how to deal with a situation like that. Cadets are faced with additional disadvantages. Sometimes they're only allowed to use one hand or they're only allowed to use leg strikes.

[video] 9:49 Another exercise requires one combatant to spin around in circles before the fight begins.

[video] 9:56 If you get into a fight with an opponent out there in the street, it could happen that you get hit in the head, and that can create some kind of dizziness, a little bit of a concussion type of scenario. We want to make sure that they have this kind of understanding without putting them into a concussion, obviously, because we don't want them to be hurting themselves.

10:11 But with punches flying, minor... They should get the guy from China, the mad fist guy. He was teaching the policeman in China what to do. Injuries do occur.

[video] 10:23 Sometimes some things like that happen. We try to mitigate that as much as we can, so it's almost a good thing that he can feel that, so then if it happens in the field, he knows how to deal with it.

[video] 10:33 In this scenario...

[video] 10:39 Cadets attempt to subdue an aggressive assailant and apply handcuffs, but it's not easy. To make the scenario more challenging, cadets are...

10:47 Right, once you want to dominate in any way, show any kind of strength, then they will come and use their strength, the so-called power, over you. And it is actual power, seeing as they always use physical force. Pretty much always.

[video] 11:09 ...are matched up with assailants who are bigger and stronger than they are. Trying to take his arm! Whose objective is to try and grab the gun and baton from the cadet's duty belt.

[video] 11:23 The reason that we do this is...

11:25 There's actually many clips of that happening.

[video] 11:28 It's basically to allow the police officer to reassess the totality of that situation. And now that jeopardy has raised for the police officer, they should be able to reassess that situation. Communication is the big key here. They want to communicate with their partner and then come up with a new plan based on their risk assessment, which is always evolving. Nobody dies at depot. This is the place to make mistakes because when police officers make mistakes, people get hurt. Some of the stuff they see and will see is not nice and we need to help prepare them for that physically and mentally.

[video] 11:53 Being exposed to pepper spray is a common part of law enforcement training, and it's no different in the RCMP. We want them to get an appreciation for using pepper spray so they understand, essentially, that it's painful, and so they understand that it works, it's effective, and that they can fight through it if they are exposed to OC spray themselves. They do 50 jumping jacks, so we just want to get their heart rate up just to simulate as if they were in some sort of a physical altercation, perhaps. They then go into the actual chamber where it's been contaminated with pepper spray. You've already gone 10-19. I said just make the arrest. And then they have to make an arrest on the subject inside that chamber, keeping their eyes open, being aware of their surroundings, and fighting through that painful experience.

12:19 But at depot, cadets take it to another level. Again, as I said, a lot of abuse, pain and suffering, and then you want to let it all out. After being exposed, cadets exit the facility and perform an arrest in the freezing cold.

[video] 12:35 Would you like to speak to a lawyer when we get back to the office? They probably barely notice the cold when they're out there immediately after the exposure. It's only once that the effects have worn off that they realize it's actually cold outside. It actually will help somewhat with numbing that pain of the pepper spray once I get back into a warmer environment. Cadets fire between 800 and 900 rounds during their 65 hours of training on the firing range.

[video] 13:01 Probably 15-20% of the cadets that show up have some sort of firearms experience, whether that's pistol, shotgun, rifle, or hunting. We're able to take someone with absolutely no pistol or firearms experience and make them quite good shooters and successful through the program. So week two, they're actually issued their service pistol, Smith & Wesson 5946. That is their pistol. And it will follow them through their career until they retire or move on to something else. Firearms is a very important skill set to have. And if the day ever comes that you actually need to rely on your pistol to protect a human life, it's going to be a situation where we hope that you're proficient and you're prepared for that day when it does come. I was here yesterday.

13:30 Of course, it makes people afraid.

13:35 Everybody pretty much lives in fear, whether they realize it or not. Whenever anybody wants to do something, it's always in the back of your head. And you know that these people, whatever.

[video] 13:52 I'm trying to make a living.

[video] 13:57 Cadets interact with a video in which role players create a scenario that tests judgment and how to de-escalate a threatening situation.

[video] 14:07 The judgment simulation room is also equipped with what's known as a shootback cannon, which fires projectiles at cadets. We can basically give them a little shot with the shootback cannon and it will remind them to go use cover. So it only needs once or twice and then they quickly get behind cover. Every cadet is required to pass the PAIR test. PAIR stands for Physical Ability Requirement Evaluation. It's used to determine a cadet's physical ability for duty. The PAIR is the current job standard test that we use. It's the measure of success for fitness and physical ability when cadets graduate from depot. So if the cadet is unsuccessful at PAIR, then they will not graduate from our program. The cadets will run six laps of an obstacle course that includes running over a set of stairs twice in each lap as well as jumping over some lower hurdles and going over a three-foot barrier laying on the ground and getting up. So they go through that circuit six times and then they move into what we call the push-pull station that replicates that altercation and they need to push and maneuver a weight six times. The weight is 70 pounds.

[video] 15:04 The standard for what we call a pass is four minutes and 45 seconds. In policing the physical demands are unpredictable and it's difficult to do your job well or safely if you are unfit. Cadets are also timed in scenario-specific training like this exercise, where the objective is to load up a truck bed with various life-saving supplies.

15:21 Each item weighs about 50 pounds, and the goal is to... Again, simply more stress. They are training these people to become tools. That's essentially the point. Simply... People who will do whatever they are told.

[video] 15:38 ...to safely load the truck in less than two minutes. 202.9. Training moves outside.

15:50 when cadets work with a dog handler. It's also interesting that they use dogs the same way humans have used them for ages to hunt because essentially what they are doing is a form of hunting. They are simply imitating what they would be doing in nature and a lot of times they don't even imitate it. That's why this job really appeals to a lot of people. You're not going to be doing exactly what you would be doing in nature, seeing as you will be working for a company, which is imaginary, obviously, but you can pretend that you're part of this team and then you can do a lot of what humans would be doing in nature. That's why a lot of people really like these kind of jobs, but the dog really highlights what's going on here.

[video] 16:48 This is Bailey. She was my partner as a police dog. I spent seven years on the road with her as a police dog, and we were partners. She goes on what are called uniform runs, supposed to simulate running with a dog handler, pursuing a suspect, or looking for a lost person. Come on, let's go! We end up going over a lot of fences when we're chasing bad guys. It's just the nature of how our work... Bad guys.

17:09 I love it. Oh, yeah.

17:14 It's how it is nowadays. Everything is inverted, twisted upside down.

[video] 17:18 To try and get a dog over a fence, our main concern is the safety of the dog. We don't want the dog getting hurt chasing somebody, and so there's certain ways to get the dogs over the fence. They utilize their harness, so what we usually do is get one person at the top of the fence and on top of the fence, and then I hand the dog up to them. And their job is to make sure she doesn't come back over the fence or jump down the other side and hurt herself. We're lucky with Bailey. Bailey's very friendly and very easy to work around. The cadets use it as a bit of a learning tool to show them how to be around the dog and what the dog looks like.

17:49 And the dog simply believes that it's her, I guess that it's a female, hunting team. The dog doesn't understand anything that's going on, obviously, but I just want to make it clear that the dog simply believes that they are hunting for enemies, which is really the case because these guys and the girls believe that the other people are their enemies in certain situations. If you are... quiet and do what you're supposed to do, then they won't see you as their enemy, obviously. And then whenever the dog is told to attack or do whatever, then the dog will do it because the dog sees those people as her family, essentially.

18:46 They usually aren't around any other dogs, if then only briefly. It's actually a working dog.

[video] 19:00 cadets have to pass a rigorous inspection of their barracks, known in the RCMP as pits. Cadets lay out all components of their duty belt on their beds and stand by while an officer inspects all of their clothing and personal belongings. What would you have done? A cow sacrificed their life for your belt. What would you have done to it? How they do present their pits and let their pits in... Huh?

19:22 Is the guy vegan or something?

19:26 Strange.

[video] 19:26 ...is an extension of themselves and it does translate to other areas across the cadet training program. It is minus 25 right now and you're out here in a forge cap. You're out here not prepared for duty. This entire troop will be at learning assistance tomorrow morning at 7.30. Wear your fur cap and carry your hat here so you can wear it for class. What sets the RCMP apart is its uncompromising attention to detail.

[video] 19:54 which is on full display in the drill hall, where cadets spend hours practicing marching.

19:59 Of course, it's the best way to control these people. If you would tell them that they can move however they want to, or if they can wear whatever clothes they want to, It would be a lot harder to pull this off, but if you tell them to really be like robots, to simply do whatever they are told, then it becomes very easy.

[video] 20:26 It's an extremely valuable component of training here because it teaches cadets that sense of discipline, self-control and...

20:35 Right, discipline and self-control. Very well said, of course. I'm not sure if she understands what that actually means. Discipline means going against your senses, meaning that whenever you are disciplined, you go against your intuition. When you go to the gym, for example, and if you tell somebody that you're going to be disciplined today, then what you mean is that You will go to a gym, you will hate doing it, seeing as everybody hates it, but you will push through the pain, the suffering. You will push and pull that metal for no reason. And self-control is the same. You control yourself, what you really want to do. You control your nature and also the nature of other people, which is their job essentially. And you go against it. You don't want to be there. You don't want to march like a robot. You don't want to be told what you're supposed to do. It goes against human nature completely.

21:35 But you will still do it just because you are weak.

[video] 21:41 Posure. Do you need to see a chiropractor or something? Put your feet forward. It's about conditioning the mind. Simple commands, you respond. You see the threat, you respond. Even though it looks very ceremonial in nature, it's all connected back.

21:54 Right again, no thoughts allowed. Don't think about what you're doing. Don't form your own opinions. Simply do what we tell you. and everything will be fine. You will get some kind of diploma, we will send some meaningless symbols, which you call money, to your bank account every month, and that's what will keep you going. They're doing policing.

[video] 22:20 The bottom of the flap, all the way down here. Lower it, the bottom here.

22:24 Policing and policing means doing whatever the people above me, that's also all imaginary, tell me to do.

[video] 22:35 That's where it should be. Why are those things important in our uniform? Public perception of us. What happens if we have poor public perception? Lack of faith.

22:45 It's not about... Right, exactly, faith. It does require faith.

[video] 22:49 ...and zippers, and it's not about marching. Everything has a connection back to policing. Attention to detail in your uniform translates to looking for what's missing, looking for what might be evidence when you get out into the field.

[video] 23:02 Drill practice culminates in a ceremony known as the Sergeant Major's Parade.

[video] 23:10 Every week, there's a special guest in attendance, a 28-year-old man with special needs named Matthew. He has come to the RCMP depot parade on Tuesdays for the past six years, and it's his, like, ultimate thing. This is what he looks most forward to is being able to come here and have this relationship that he's developed with the drill unit.

[video] 23:29 It's just tremendous. Like, they've just sort of taken him under their wing, and he has his own uniform. You know, they made him an honorary cadet.

23:39 It actually makes a lot of sense that they did that when you think about it deeply.

[video] 23:48 The week before graduation, cadets attend what's known as the regimental dinner held in the officers' mess. It's a tradition that, according to the RCMP, media has not been allowed to attend before now. It exposes them to the importance of our history. We adhere to some very old traditions that we've inherited from the British Army and the Canadian Army that we've made our own. To the Queen!

24:11 This is... To the Queen. This is actually the most important part of the whole video because it shows you that they see each other as a family. It's as if you're sitting together at this table with your family members and then you will go and fight the bad guys. It makes a lot of sense that they do this, that they really try to make them believe that they are one big team, because naturally that's who you would be hunting with, dominating. And in this case, it's an artificial, imaginary concept, essentially, that you are believing in. And you believe that it's as if you are inside of the concept, that's how delusional it is.

25:08 It's as if everybody is inside of this concept and then you dominate together for the concept. It is what it is.

[video] 25:21 One seat at the table is left unoccupied to honor the memory of the more than 240 RCMP officers who have died in the line of duty.

[video] 25:31 It's really a culmination of that family piece that we talk about right from the beginning, that building of the Esprit de Corps, sitting there together as the Corps, celebrating the organization that they're just about to join.

25:54 It's also very important that they all wear the same uniform. That way, they all look the same, sort of. It gives you the illusion that these are your family members, or at the very least, your teammates.

[video] 26:13 Before they graduate, cadets take part in the oath ceremony. Yes, yes, French.

26:24 Yes, this is also important because you need to believe and imagine that you need to do that now. Now you gave the oath, but in reality, you didn't give anything. You simply imagined that you gave something. You simply made some kind of sounds which have no meaning whatsoever. And then you imagine. But as long as you imagine all of that, and as long as you believe that it's real, that it's important and so on, then it will work. It's all that matters. As long as you believe in all of this, you will go and live your life like this. That none of it is real doesn't matter to the people who understand that. They only care that you believe in all of that.

[video] 27:15 Took their oaths in French. After taking the oaths, the cadets removed the epaulettes from their uniforms, signifying that they're no longer cadets.

27:29 And again, they simply threw some kind of fabric or whatever with symbols on it in the air. It's nothing. You simply imagine that it is something. And now you imagine that you're something else. But in reality, you are who you are and nothing can change that.

[video] 27:57 They've become members of the Mounted Police. They grow two inches and they look so proud. And their families and their friends when they see them are so proud of what they've achieved. Canadians trust the RCMP and have for a very long time. It's fragile and we have to make sure that we maintain that.

28:17 People who do these kind of jobs are very important. Without them, this system wouldn't work. There are people out there who think of rules that you should follow, most of which go against your nature. And to make sure that you follow these rules, they hire these people. It doesn't matter that these are simply ideas. As long as the people who enforce them believe in them, they will go on and actually try to enforce them in this physical reality.

28:57 Combine all of that with what you have been taught your whole life, what is good, what is bad.

29:08 You will understand exactly what is going on once you figure out the nature of this reality, those people that you saw in this video are no different. They grew up the same way as everybody else, except that when they do what is supposedly bad, then all of a sudden it's good. Thanks for watching.