Rotten Apples

Up to this point, I have used examples in The Killer Trail where the central conflict exists between Chris Ryder and Ray Owens. As the Fighting Darkness series evolves another type of conflict emerges at a more systemic level in the form of corruption within the justice system: A corrupt RCMP officer, to be precise.

This week has witnessed real examples in which RCMP officers tasked to keep our society on the straight and narrow path have themselves lost their way. It’s unfortunate how a rotten few apples can result in an entire institution being tarred with the same brush.

And this is certainly not limited to the RCMP. It seems wherever you have an institution, you have the potential for someone to attempt to manipulate that institution, regardless of whether we are talking about the justice system, mental health system, financial institutions, and so on.

Fortunately, these are individual cases, which are not representative of their larger group. And there are many, many more individuals who remain dedicated to their chosen careers despite the inherent challenges.

And where there is adversity, there is also hope. In The Killer Trail, this hope comes in the form of a RCMP officer named Brandon Ryan. In one scene the sergeant laments to Chris, “Sometimes it’s hard to find the justice in the justice system.” But together they form an alliance to bring Ray Owens to justice and tackle corruption they encounter along the way, refusing to allow a few rotten apples from spoiling the whole barrel.