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Cal PoRnmneE CHMB SA LE TA4mp 2. IIP Je% this day and age of DNA testing, sophisticated fibre testing and | * ~~~) either in material id Z satellite monitoring, crime solving often seems an awesome scienâ€" ‘ |costs, wages, or for 4 tific or technological process. It wasn‘t always so. In fact, less than the hours and 50 years ago, the gagherlng of evidence for criminal prosecutions was in hours of extra time its infancy in Ontario. s he put in for othâ€" # Retired Ontario Provincial Police Corporal Bill Baluk was only the j s ers. Only later did > â€" third forensic constable in Ontario. From his Cramahe Township home, A & Bill charge levy a â€"â€"using his 32 years of work diaries for reference, he talked of the chalâ€" ‘ fee, but only to @~ lenges, memories good and bad, of his work. i 5 "oloith \ :\ cover the actual ¢ * ,‘fi"i% %‘ , costs of his photoâ€" %{ es To if graphic supplies. f Were crimes of 50 years ago He‘ll never forget the day the M (ae !* As Bill‘s 0. less heinous than the crimes of _ telegram of acceptance came from § As $ Pn prowess and skill »â€"today? the OPP â€" May 17, 1948. y s n 54 5 became known, he f "Oh no," Bill Baluk of "My wife and I were walking ~Auag :; ts ”‘5',?»?_ was called on more ~+ Cramahe Township replies with â€" over a bridge in Oshawa and We _ weg 4‘{1"‘)’&4 i. . PP in and more by the 15 _~ assurance. "There were murders, â€" saw two young boys on bicyclists s A ’Cffff\ :,.._"“f;;""‘m. io. 'j.f.;;.‘%r municipal police ©â€"robberies and all types of crimes â€" get hit. They both died. I can still 4 ahiag :fgs";' hoh [ e Pn 2 \ forces and 12 OPP / you read about today." see it in my mind. I had to appeat. 53 m . FSH ““fi.l i ido=ngens detachments .. ® He should know. He was one of _ in court for that case two years f §$.2 fl“isg\ h \g;@,“_ PM g.'»;g; “é‘, thro ug ho ut â€"» the first three forensic constables later." j uies $ en Piideg»... ( 0e /"‘3?'&;;”&';‘&251‘. ‘:‘_‘-_4‘&_- ie t â€", | Ontario. «_ for the Ontario Provincial Police. Bill reported to 18 Surrey Place it *‘"d t’ pas ie e SV kfsfuw'-uf i:l’f._&s is %«"J [ "Most of my For 32 years, he worked with 15 in Toronto for work. f mu" . ~z. e ;;-j-’.:sgni \1‘,-‘_{,?%&% $ '};’;‘f â€"| work was for an municipal and 12 OPP detachâ€" "There was supposed to be Six rriiignes., s ie {Efi&}j 5 ’\;;, BW Ves (‘» y area from Trenton . ments collecting and preserving â€" weeks training, but because they ';;:;.LM:; !{f.lhh»w: ._-,;%- &,‘;’1;‘ $ ;'f..;‘.{;{ A (in the east) north evidence to solve crimes. were so short of people, after four dn *E}!E;r;l Hiene / Q; f‘ i ns as far as Algoâ€" _ ."In the beginning, it was all weeks I was assigned top Cobourg @,fi~.‘ 7 .-14;-i-:;f;',sfl‘;'}'\“?_;:fi;_fi;,,hl C .o ue ngquin park and new," Mr. Baluk says of his evoluâ€" OPP detachment in July 1948. I 1 Y _ Wt * ) -"'Q'E‘%““ seris . .35 2t east to Oshawa. It ~ tion as a forensic specialist. | was 24 years old. and did highway ; ;/*' 3 4 ‘fiz'él‘"-““‘"‘ha 0. ce 3 x .. 3 was a big area. "There were no ' P%H’] ol mgglillg oogs : !ff!f itz%'_i?fl i _ i % "I was the third regulations, no | . with _ _ mieilge en eaihalso t _, Sn cCn & «s l _ 0| identification offiâ€" real _ proceâ€" criminal inves |;> °_ __ _ __â€"~â€" _ Watsâ€"taaocge /" meRP _ cer in Ontario. The _ dures." S o 1 m s e agl "~ Cfi td first was George Bill Baluk‘s police career It was selfâ€"learning in the first oo E0 diiceblabelatee «2t Avrela ofi Long in Toronto, .___evolved from his life, rather than . years on the job. e id c un se3 e the second James i. _ his life evolving from his career. "In the beginning, I learned | C Mess inime Driscoll with ts Born in Oshawa, he attended myself," Bill recalls of forensics. |â€" .. â€"â€" wWa j Belleville District . Richmond Road elementary "I learned a lot from the former * . Ts 22 z»| head quarters of i‘ school and then Oshawa Vocaâ€" Chief of Police of Port Hope, L. W _ We \ t t ols tox! sn s * | ine OPP. I was _ tional Collegiate Institute. William Carson. He had been a |["=__ y _ _ _}; i C y o unusual because I s "I kept trying to join the policeman in the U.K. and knew 4 o e s * . ‘) Actkpge, /\ wasn‘t assigned to & RCAF," he recalls of 1942. "They about fingerprinting. He taught | «5 inss {3 â€" s o e £ provincial or disâ€" i took other people before they mealot." peih c S e ar i. > Ploniy trict headquarters. _ werel8, but they wouldn‘t take _ Bill was fascinated by photog: n ie e * "we would preâ€" ~â€" me, even when I went in a couple raphy. He could see photographs | _ es M"“*m.“_ serve physical eviâ€" ©~ of months before I turned 18. I could be a valuable tool for C= P ym + dence for criminal *~ _ joined September of 1942 when I recording traffic accident details. Proto ay Manoy Martin â€" charges to be preâ€" =~â€" turned 18. I was sent overseas Of his own accord, at his own â€" Revisiting work diaries from 40 years ago, Bill Baluk recalls his work as one of the first sented in court, =~June 1944 for training at St. expense and to support his own _ forensics constables for the Ontario Provincial Police. inquests or anyâ€" * Athens, Wales. and then to Dishâ€" â€" investigatibns he decided to buy a thing that. was > forth for the heavy conversion camera. . needed. What I did Rs unit‘! > 1 "Cameras were as scare as threeâ€"andâ€"aâ€"quarter by fourâ€"andâ€"aâ€" my bathroom, praying a neighâ€" was the fingerprints and phoâ€" ow In September 1945, he was disâ€" hen‘s teeth in those days," he quarterâ€"inch film. But, oh, it had bour wouldn‘t turn on a light tographs and neutralizing safes. I ©=~ charged back in Canada. recalls. But he had a contact, â€" a lens that captured detail magâ€" â€" (shining through a window)," he â€" had to neutralize between 20 and T2 _ "T worked at the Motors from â€" Murray Smith, a Globe and Mail nificently. recalls with laughter. "I used my 30 safes which had been loaded t 1947 to 1948 on the line. I couldn‘t reporter who sold him a Speedâ€" "I started taking photos of acciâ€" bathtub." but weren‘t blown in my career." i\ stand all the noise from the (air) graphic camera. The heavy, dents for myself and then other In the early days, there was no f guns, so I applied to the OPP." bulky, square contraption took _ OPP. I used to develop the film in â€"compensation for his service â€" Continuep on Pase 10 *) * c if eR