| Operational Issues News The Bryan Police Department has joined about two dozen other Texas law enforcement agencies - including its College Station neighbor - to receive accreditation from a national law enforcement association. In order to receive the distinction, which is given by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, departments must pass a rigorous evaluation that requires compliance with446 different standards. The process takes more than two years. In Bryan, officials said the accreditation is a positive not only because it means the department passed the test. It also lowers the city's liability in certain circumstances because the department's procedures have been nationally recognized, and it heightens the community's confidence in its police, they said. At the end of the long arm of the law, you'll probably find a mobile computer. Toronto and Ottawa police, for example, have issued their parking control officers with wireless handhelds and portable printers. Instead of just issuing tickets, the devices also check for stolen vehicles, adding substantially to their recovery. Even citizen groups, like Citizens on Patrol in BC use Palm handheld devices issued through a program run by the British Colombia Crime Prevention Association and the ICBC to check the license plates of cars. But this is new - Part of that is cost; police services budgets, like any public agency are perennially constrained. As such, like any corporation, making a business case has become tantamount. A new website is combating Internet luring through friendly games and animal characters who teach children about online safety. Bad Guy Patrol was launched Wednesday by Alberta Children's Services and Microsoft Canada. It is designed to help children between the ages of five and 10 _ along with their parents _ educate themselves about how to safely navigate the Internet. Preschoolers are the fastest growing segment of Internet users. Fifty‑eight per cent of three and four‑year‑olds are online, and the number rises to 77 per cent of those aged five and six. Children's Services Minister Heather Forsyth says the site tackles a “serious and scary issue'' in a way that is fun. Letter - Columnist James McNulty is entitled to his opinion that crime isn't a serious concern to Canadians. But he should not twist the facts to suit his thesis. Our government was elected on a commitment to get tougher on crime, a commitment clearly based on a growing problem. In 2005, 222 homicides were committed with firearms versus 173 in 2004, an increase related to a rise in gang activity and the use of illegal guns in crime. Perhaps this is why the opposition parties, in particular the Liberals and NDP, campaigned on similar commitments to crack down as well. The long‑gun registry has been completely ineffective. Attempting to count and track every long gun in Canada has not made Canadians safer and does nothing to prevent the misuse of either legal or illegal firearms. Vancouver police estimate 97 per cent of firearms seized in 2003 were illegal weapons smuggled in from the U.S. This is why strengthening border security is absolutely vital. The preliminary cost figures cited by McNulty for strengthening our borders include the costs of hiring and training 400 additional officers, making major infrastructure improvements and providing equipment and maintenance for the entire 10‑year implementation period. These border‑security improvements, together with measures that will add 1,000 new RCMP personnel, are vital to properly protect our communities. A suggestion that female police officers call in a male colleague sometimes to accommodate ultra-orthodox Jews has sparked a furor in Montreal. The Montreal police department says it was just trying to be culturally sensitive. Now it's accused of being sexist. Detractors say that in trying to respect religious minority rights, they're violating the rights of 1,200 female officers. "This is retrograde. It's lacking respect for our policewomen," said Yves Francoeur, head of the Montreal police union. The source of the uproar is a small article in the Montreal police department's internal publication, distributed to police stations across the city. It contains tips on how police should deal with Montreal's Hasidic community of ultra-orthodox Jews. "This concept of male-female relations may sometimes raise uncomfortable situations that demand great sensitivity to cultural diversity," the item says. "In some cases, it could mean having your male colleague step in to facilitate discussion and the delivery of service." Though the suggestion may sound merely practical, it struck a chord in Montreal. In this case, the police department's attempt at cultural rapprochement backfired. Mr. Francoeur said that while officers welcome sensitivity training to deal with ethnic groups, this is the first time the department has suggested modifying police behaviour in approaching a particular community. "What's next? Will we ask policewomen to wear a veil when they deal with people who practise Islam?" he asked. "We're creating a dangerous precedent.
The Metropolitan Police in London England has been forced to plead for £150mn more funding from the government. Police chief Sir Ian Blair says he urgently needs more money due to the heavy demands on his force caused by fighting international terrorism. A review by the Metropolitan Police Authority has revealed that the Met is spending a record £452mn a year on "national, international and capital city" (NIC) police services, which benefit the nation. The cost has soared in the space of a year from £387mn. But the Home Office is only providing £217mn from central government towards the expenditure - leaving a shortfall of £235mn which has to be made up by raising council taxes for Londoners or cutting the money for fighting crime in the capital. On a routine call, three unwitting police officers fell into a trap. A car darted out to block their path, and dozens of hooded youths surged out of the darkness to attack them with stones, bats and tear gas before fleeing. One officer was hospitalized, and no arrests made. One small police union claims officers are facing a “permanent intifada.” Police injuries have risen in the year since the wave of violence. With talk of reform to the B.C. Police Act, the seeds of change could be planted in policy makers' minds this week during a police conference on civilian oversight. "In any democracy, police have to be held responsible by civilians," said Attorney-General Wally Oppal during the first day of the conference. "The whole agenda [of the event] is excellent. Although our system is the best in the world, there is a lot we can learn from other countries." CACOLE president and B.C. police complaints commissioner Dirk Ryneveld said the conference could have huge implications in B.C. "With the prospect of reforms being made, this conference gives us a chance to see what works and what doesn't from all over the world," said Ryneveld, an advocate for civilian oversight reform in the province. "This is very important from a public interest perspective." The conference, which is closed to the public, continues today. A heartfelt apology was delivered to Maher Arar and his family by Commissioner Zaccardelli yesterday on behalf of the RCMP. The Commissioner attended a Public Safety hearing where he ended his silence on the Arar incident. He fielded questions about the RCMP’s role and agreed that grave mistakes had been made. He ensured that all recommendations put forward by Justice O’Connor would be upheld. Supported by Stockwell Day, Minister of Public Safety, the Commissioner vowed to lead the RCMP through this difficulty and fix all that is in need of repair. He made it clear that he would not resign. When Edmonton's Guardian Angels take to the city's mean streets early next year, they'll have the benefit of tae- kwondo training. Training will last two hours a week for up to four months. The taekwondo component will include basic punching, kicking and blocking, for self defense purposes only. Training will also include general physical fitness and conditioning to prepare the recruits for four-hour patrols. Police Chief Mike Boyd has said he's open to working with the Guardian Angels. He's suggested they can work with existing community patrols. Currently, the Angels are completing the interview process. Edmonton's chapter has drawn a "nice mix" of people from all walks of life, including ex-military, professionals, students, married, single, young, middle-aged and senior citizens. Meanwhile, the Angels are still looking for some financial support. RCMP Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli is being muzzled by the Conservative government and is unable to publicly defend himself in the Arar affair, according to law-enforcement sources who know the top Mountie. Mr. Zaccardelli surfaced for the first time publicly Sunday at a ceremony in Ottawa. But he refused to comment on the controversy that has swirled around him and his force since the release of an inquiry report last week that slammed the RCMP for giving erroneous intelligence to the United States that contributed to Maher Arar's arrest and torture in Syria. “Today is a day to honour more than 700 people who have died in the line of duty,” Mr. Zaccardelli said at a Parliament Hill ceremony to honour fallen police officers. “That's what I'm here for. I will be giving my testimony at the appropriate time.” But senior police officials and associates say the RCMP chief would love to respond to the critics — but is being prevented. RCMP Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli should stay on as head of the federal police force, despite the damning Arar report, says Liberal leadership candidate Bob Rae. Rae was in Nepean last night glad‑handing with local Liberals at Bayshore Catholic School. Several Liberal MPs and at least one senator showed up for the event. Despite growing calls for Zaccardelli's head, Rae said the RCMP's top cop should not be blamed for the bumbling and coverups associated with the federal force's handling of the Maher Arar case. "(Zaccardelli) has always been a man of great integrity and great ability and I think it would be unfair to put the full load of what happened on his shoulders," said Rae, in a wide‑ranging, but short interview. "I don't think it would be the right conclusion ...The Arar Commission was never intended to assign that level of responsibility." Rae, a former Ontario NDP premier, said Arar should get compensation but the remedy should focus on fixing the "machine" which failed him. You know what I don't get about the Maher Arar fiasco? Sure, the RCMP erred in sending raw speculation about him to the Americans who took it at face value and deported him to Syria where he was imprisoned and tortured for a year. No argument that was wrong. Parliament has heard apologies and remorse for what happened, and undoubtedly Arar is going to get financial compensation. That's not what puzzles me. Maher Arar has always maintained he was never linked with al‑Qaida and not remotely connected to terrorism ‑ a view supported and then some, by Mr. Justice Dennis O'Connor's detailed report that damns the RCMP for reckless behaviour in forwarding unsubstantiated allegations to the Americans about him. All that is straightforward and understandable. What I don't get ‑ and have never gotten from the start of this weird miscarriage of justice and accountability ‑ is why the Syrians would imprison and torture Arar if the Americans (and RCMP) thought he was an al‑Qaida or any other sort of terrorist? Since when have the Syrians ‑ big supporters of Hezbollah and a sanctuary for anti‑American fighters from Iraq ‑ been torturing people suspected of seeking to undermine Americans? Heck, if he were what the RCMP thought he was, you'd think the Syrians would roll out the red carpet for him and honour him with a state dinner or something, not jail and torture him for a year. Something seems out of kilter in this case. Maybe there's a reasonable answer why Syrian intelligence elements would co‑operate and torture someone like Arar on behalf of the Americans, or because the Americans didn't like or want him around? Makes no sense. Also, it makes little sense in Canada that there now seems a lynch‑mob attitude towards the RCMP. Political elements also want the scalp of RCMP Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli as the scapegoat for the mishandled case. I don't know much about Zaccardelli, but I do know a little about the RCMP, and especially RCMP security which, arguably, has done more than any other agency to protect Canada from subversives, traitors, revolutionaries, agitators, insurrection and sedition. Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba have signed an agreement to share information and form a common front in the fight against organized crime. Integration is necessary as criminal networks become more sophisticated. “The answer to reorganized crime is organized justice” and the attorney generals of each province have penned this deal to expand and formalize information collaboration across jurisdictions. Quebec Justice Minister Yvon Marcoux said Quebec stands to benefit from Ontario's expertise in street gangs, while both Manitoba and Ontario could learn from Quebec's success against biker gangs. RCMP Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli has assured Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day that all recommendations stemming from the Arar inquiry report will be met. Staff for Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day said last night that the RCMP commissioner had not offered to quit. The minister's staff had initially refused to confirm or deny whether a resignation had been tendered. The NDP, meanwhile, demanded to know if Mr. Harper had asked officials in the United States to apologize for arresting Mr. Arar -- a Canadian citizen -- in New York in 2002 and sending him to Syria as a terrorist where he was imprisoned and tortured for a year. The family of Ian Bush called yesterday for the British Columbia government to follow Ontario's lead and provide for independent investigations into violent confrontations involving police that end in death. Reform of the current system is "an absolute must” to ensure impartiality, said Linda Bush. Constable Paul Koester killed Ms. Bush's 22-year-old son last year during a confrontation at the police station in the northern B.C. town of Houston. Constable Koester had arrested Mr. Bush for having an open beer bottle in public. Mr. Bush was handcuffed and taken to the police station. He was shot dead 20 minutes later. The incident was investigated by the major-crimes unit at the neighbouring RCMP detachment in Prince George. New Westminster police reviewed the process the RCMP followed. Based on results of the investigation, Crown prosecutors accepted that Constable Koester acted in self-defence and decided not to proceed with criminal charges. Six northern Alberta aboriginal bands are now under RCMP watch until the province and the communities decide how to replace a scrapped police force. The Alberta government announced earlier this year that it was not renewing the contract of the Lesser Slave Lake Police Service after a review of the operation. The cancellation took effect Sept. 7. The Solicitor General's Department cited failure to investigate major crimes such as sexual assault, aggravated assault and one attempted murder in its decision to cancel its contract. Former chief Jon Netelenbos said he pleaded for more officers from the province but never got them. Department spokesman Andy Weiler says the province wants a new service in place by April 1, 2007. ''This gives them a lot of time to talk about (options),'' said Weiler. ''Nobody wants to race into things.'' Options include re‑establishing an all‑aboriginal force, or creating an integrated service between RCMP and aboriginal officers. The force was established in 1995 to patrol Horse Lake, Sucker Creek, Kapawe'no, Driftpile, Swan River and Sawridge First Nations in northwestern Alberta. Canada may be a leader in Internet technology, but it is lagging behind when it comes to building barriers to online hate crime. Of the 61,000 law enforcement officers in Canada, only 245 are working on cyber‑related crimes, said experts at the third International Symposium on Hate on the Internet in Toronto yesterday. According to them, Canada is losing the war against cyber crime. The United States and Europe have taken legal steps to monitor Web‑based crimes, but Canada has yet to take the leap. "The Baby Boomer generation didn't grow up with this type of crime," said Ian Wilms, president of the Canadian Association of Police Boards. "It's a fairly new problem to have children uttering online death threats to classmates and teachers." The conference, which continues over the next two days, examines the domestic and global dimensions of Web‑based hate and extremism, as well as online activities in support of terrorism. The police who patrol the Lower Mainland's transit system are in fewer fights than they were before they became an official police force in December 2005. Insp. Dan Dureau of the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority Police Service said it isn't because his officers won the right to carry guns. "The moment we put 'police' on our uniforms, our fights just dropped off," said Dureau, a former Vancouver police inspector who was in charge of the special investigations unit. "I can't say it's zero, but it's really close to zero." The majority of transit police officers are former RCMP and city police officers, with an average of 18 years policing experience. Transit police have full powers under the Police Act, including the ability to arrest people for outstanding warrants, enforce drug laws and enforce the Criminal Code off and on transit property. The Government of Alberta will spend $100 million over the next five years on a province-wide IT project that will include a centralized crime database for the region’s police service agencies and the RCMP. Solicitor General and Minister of Public Security Harvey Cenaiko made the announcement Monday. The money for the project will come out of an $8.7 billion surplus from the province’s 2005 budget. The database, which will comprise two-thirds of the project and cost $66 million, will allow police officers from municipal police agencies and the RCMP to share information for the first time. At present, municipal police forces are able to query each other’s databases but not the RCMP’s. Other provinces, such as B.C. and Ontario, have implemented similar systems. Earlier this summer, the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police completed the implementation of a system that allows the province’s police agencies to query each other’s databases for information on criminals and predators across jurisdictions. The Ontario government provided $11 million towards that project and another $5 million towards the Major Case Management system, which deals exclusively with murders and sexual assaults. By next decade, all Alberta police forces will have access to a giant database of criminal intelligence reports, allowing them to break down information barriers that currently slow down and obstruct investigations, Solicitor General Harvey Cenaiko said Monday. He announced a five‑year, $66‑million project to streamline the computerized reporting systems, so a constable can know immediately that the man he stopped with a stolen car in Medicine Hat is a known gang associate in the capital city. The database will be part of the province's $100‑million plan to upgrade law enforcement technology, which includes updates to the corrections data system and other inter‑agency information sharing. Of the project's cost, $9.6 million will be spent simply consulting with RCMP and city police agencies and crafting a business model. Police currently rely heavily on the CPIC, a national system that tells police about someone's criminal rap sheet and tracks stolen property. But it cannot go into further detail on accomplices or non‑criminal intelligence such as organized crime connections, which the unified database should be able to do when it's operational in 2010 or 2011, Cenaiko said later in an interview. "In this day and age when you can have a criminal travelling from the northern part to the central part to the southern part, waiting until the next day when the report comes in can be too late," said Const. Al Fraser of the RCMP. Twenty‑one traffic sheriffs on the solicitor general's payroll will be on Alberta's most dangerous highways in time for the September long weekend. "Your impending presence on our highways comes not a moment too soon," Solicitor General Harvey Cenaiko told the new sheriffs during graduation ceremonies. "We can change reckless attitudes and bad habits." The sheriffs have firearms training and will be armed. The sheriffs have the power to enforce any provincial laws, including the Traffic Safety Act and liquor and gaming regulations. They can apprehend individuals with outstanding warrants and assist RCMP with collision investigations. The solicitor general wants to increase the number of sheriffs from the 42 that fit the budget this year. Sgt. Mike Duffy, who retired from the RCMP in 2004 after 28 years, is one of the first batch of sheriffs. He thinks they will be a big help to Alberta's Mounties. "There's a need out there for traffic enforcement to assist the RCMP in the rural areas, as well as other police services. I'm happy to be part of it," he said, clad in his uniform and black Stetson. The Guardian Angels are in Ottawa hoping to start a chapter but the police department is not welcoming them. Deputy Police Chief Sue O'Sullivan said there was no way her department will condone the Guardian Angels and their lack of community knowledge is unimpressive and speaks to the need for the police to do community policing. The police have not been approached by any community or business groups about bringing in the Guardian Angels. Commissioner Gwen Boniface will take on a new role in a newly established Inspectorate providing oversight of Ireland’s National Police Force. She will stay on as Commissioner of the OPP until early October to ensure a smooth transition. An extensive, Canada-wide search will begin shortly to find a replacement for the role. “Commissioner Boniface has distinguished herself as an exceptional police officer, role model and leader,” said Premier Dalton McGuinty. She also holds the position of Co Chair of the Board of Directors for the Canadian Police Sector Council. In their daily pursuit of criminals at a time when frontline Mounties are being wounded and killed in the line of duty, two officers ‑ including one who came under fire himself ‑ yesterday said the force is simply "outgunned" by the bad guys. "They've got the big guns and they're not afraid to use them," said Const. Rip Mills. "So you go to a gunfight with a pistol and the bad guy has a rifle. What do you do with a pistol? Duck and take cover?" It is rare for Mounties to speak out publicly, but with the rash of gun attacks against them, Const. Mills and Const. Pete Merrifield broke ranks yesterday in a public call for greater firepower. They said the national police force is outmatched by criminals and that frontline officers need more than one trip a year to the shooting range to keep up their skills. "We've got a pistol and a shotgun. That's not going to cut it. How many more lives need to be lost before we change?" Const. Mills said. "It's time the (Mounties) stopped giving everyone a big teddy bear hug," Const. Merrifield said. The constable, a former counter‑terrorism agent, says every frontline officer needs more firearms training. Right now, frontline Mounties go to the shooting range only once a year. The Mounties' service pistol is a 9‑mm Smith and Wesson, and each cruiser has a mounted pump‑action 12‑gauge shotgun. RCMP Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli is on holidays and couldn't be reached by his underlings yesterday for this story. When his four young Mounties were murdered in Alberta, he had this to say: "There is no possible way to plan for or manage the insane behaviour of an individual who has crossed the line from criminal to stalker, from suspect to enemy." He could not be reached for his opinion on whether his Mounties are simply outgunned and undertrained. Statistics Canada has just release Crime Statistics in Canada 2005, a report that outlines trends and analyzes the figures for crime by province. There were more homicides -- notably in Edmonton -- more robberies and more armed assaults, but overall crime was down 5 per cent in 2005. That's the distinctly mixed picture visible in the newest annual snapshot of Canadian lawbreaking. Peacekeeping missions are using police units to keep the peace and save money. Historically, the need for soldiers during military operations is usually brief and the biggest component of peacekeeping activities is that of maintaining order. The UN has 27 FPUs (Formed Police Units) which contain 3,105 peacekeeping police. Each unit includes 125 police led by a UN police Commissioner and costs about $4.2 million a year to operate. Operations allow 80% of police personnel to be on the street. By comparison an equal number of UN peacekeeping troops cost $5 million dollars a year and allow only about half the troops to be on the street at any one time. When military operations require peacekeeping, policing units are most effective. There are also larger, and more expensive, police units, formed by the UN, NATO and the EU. The NATO MSUs (Multinational Specialized Units) have from 250 to 600 personnel each, and are more heavily armed than FPUs. They, like their UN equivalents, are SPUs (stability police units). The European Union has its IPUs (Integrated Police Units). These more heavily armed, and better paid, organizations are actually paramilitary, and are used to bridge the gap between the arrival of peacekeeping troops, and the deployment of FPUs for keeping things quiet until local police forces can be rebuilt. While the concept of peacekeeper police has been a successful one, it still depends on adequate training and leadership. As with poorly trained and led peacekeeping troops, ill-prepared cops can suffer from corruption and abuse of power problems. That, however, is a constant problem that does not take away from the superiority of the peacekeeping police concept. Mayor Thomas M. Menino, amid an outcry from Boston city councilors and community leaders, said yesterday that he will accept an offer from Governor Mitt Romney to loan state troopers to Boston for special operations this summer. Romney had offered the use of State Police as Boston's understaffed police force battles a wave of crime and heads into a summer that some fear will be the bloodiest in years. On Thursday, Menino said he had decided to refuse the help, largely because Boston's powerful police unions would oppose it. But the mayor came under a firestorm of criticism yesterday, with city councilors and residents of some of the city's hardest-hit areas accusing him of letting politics interfere with the well-being of the neighborhoods. Early yesterday, Menino had continued to defend his decision, saying during an interview with WBZ radio that, while he wanted to see more State Police on the highways, troopers should not be alongside Boston police officers in the city's neighborhoods. ``Working in the streets of Boston is much more difficult than working the highways," Menino said in the interview. ``So I want to use that offer of his to let them patrol those [highways] on a full-time basis, so we can concentrate the Boston police in the neighborhoods." But by late afternoon, he was considering other options. He said he was discussing a plan to integrate state troopers with special operations forces. A newly released military intelligence report obtained by the Ottawa Citizen states that police operations against outlaw motorcycle gangs have diminished their influence and put a dent in criminal activities, but such successes will likely be short-lived. The heavily censored report cited successful police operations from 2001 to 2003 against the Hells Angels, the Bandidos and the Outlaws motorcycle gangs. But the 2003 intelligence study also warns that biker gangs are resilient in bouncing back and will use ''lower level criminals and supporters'' in the future to expand their influence. The Defence Department report, produced by military police criminal intelligence officers, pointed out that a series of raids, including a 2001 operation resulting in the arrest of approximately 40 Outlaws gang members, left that biker club in a state of ''disarray and their criminal influence diminished'' in Ontario. Vancouver Police Chief Jamie Graham is hailing new legislation on street racing as "great news" and wants to congratulate Prime Minister Stephen Harper for tackling the issue, he said yesterday after Ottawa tabled the bill. "If that means that if you get caught street racing and you're going to lose your car and you're going to do a minimum amount of time in jail, congratulations to the Prime Minister," he said. Mr. Harper introduced the idea last month while touring the Lower Mainland, where dangerous races have caused several deaths already this year. The result, Bill C-19, will give street racing its own place in the Criminal Code. Minimum driving bans, starting at one year for a first offence, would result upon conviction. The maximum penalty for an offence of dangerous driving causing death, which street racing currently falls under, would be bumped to life imprisonment, up from 14 years. Citizen patrols and private security are reducing property crime on Vancouver’s west side. The Dunbar Residents Association launched citizen patrols in March 2005 to combat property crime and vandalism. Association president Linda MacAdam was fed up after two garage and three car break-ins. Some residents blamed the rise in crime on the closure of their Community Policing Centre — one of 10 shut in 2003. MacAdam tried to fill the void by creating a citizen watch to patrol from 16th Avenue on the north to Southlands along the Fraser River and from Balaclava Street to Pacific Spirit Park. From June 2005 to June 2006, about 200 incidents were called in, 73 forwarded to 911. Most were break-ins, disorderly behaviour, a few car accidents and a grow-op report. The program has cost $200,000 to date and the company plans to spend $1 million by 2010. The company is also offering community patrollers free training and walkie-talkies. The efforts have coincided with a decline in property crime that police say is no accident. Acting Insp. Fiona Weller said civilian programs contribute to lowering crime. “They’re really good ideas,” she said. “The time has come to look at it realistically. Policing needs all the help it can get. “As a Liberal member of the Senate, I should concede from the start that Canada’s current security and intelligence weaknesses cannot be blamed on Stephen Harper’s government. Far from it. The holes in Canada’s ability to defend its citizens from man-made and natural disasters go a long way back, certainly to the budgetary cuts made under my own Liberal government in the 1990s, and back beyond that. Security has always been the easiest portfolio for federal governments to underfund, since Canadians have by and large felt safe in the myth of their peaceable kingdom. Having conceded that this government has inherited many of our security problems, however, let me be blunt: Whoever is responsible for the current mess, it is this government’s job to repair it. The Senate Committee on National Security and Defence, which I chair, is bipartisan. We see our job as producing fair, honest reports about the things that are wrong (and right) with security in this country. So far, our committee has witnessed a combination of the good, the bad and the ugly from the new government.” Senator Colin Kenny is chairman of the Senate Committee on National Security and Defence. kennyco@sen.parl.gc.ca The Guardian Angels are coming to Saskatoon and Regina this summer to gauge interest in having them patrol the streets. Critics accuse the group of doling out vigilante justice, and some even suggest that their hands-on approach — seizing drugs and paraphernalia — infringes on rights. Others welcome the added presence of anyone focused on reducing crime. Founder Sliwa cited home invasions and knifings in Saskatoon, homicides in Regina and a growing gang and drug problem in Saskatchewan’s biggest cities as concerns brought to his attention. The public has asked us to come. The Saskatoon Police Service is open to meeting with the GuardianAngels. Violent crime, gang activity and drug use have been on the rise in Saskatoon, prompting city councillors to ponder a youth curfew, a bylaw banning knives in public and a prohibition on gang colours being worn in civic facilities. Chapters are planned for Toronto (launching in July), Calgary (August), Vancouver (August) and possibly Edmonton. Now, the Angels are flying into Saskatchewan and Manitoba. British Columbia’s Solicitor-General, John Les, denied that there is a shortage of RCMP officers in the province. He played down a confidential 2005 government briefing note that reported that B.C. does not have enough RCMP officers, and said the situation has since changed. Mr. Les stressed that the government has managed to balance the budget and find extra resources to invest in policing, noting that 400 more officers are working today and there is funding to recruit another 215. Back Up The FBI has reported the biggest rise in the violent crime rate since 2001 for the USA. Now there are more murders, robberies and aggravated assaults than last year. Dallas is the most dangerous city, with Detroit a close second while New York is again considered the safest of the US big cities. Canada’s crime statistics will be released next month by Statistics Canada. So how does Canada compare? “The U.S. is higher in gun crime, but Canada has higher burglary rates, it has higher theft rates, it has equivalent assault rates: it is a high-crime society,” said Marcus Felson, professor at the School of Criminal Justice of Rutgers University Jersey. In Canada in 2004 there were 622 murders, representing two for every 100,000 people. Some experts claim Canada’s universal health care system does a better job at saving lives than does the US system. “The difference between a homicide and a serious assault is often just how quickly you can get a person to a hospital,” said Ronald Melchers, criminology professor at the University of Ottawa. The Guardian Angels plan to recruit 24 people for a unit in Vancouver, starting in August. But the former Toronto policeman who heads the group in Canada said they aren’t interested in being vigilantes, and plan only to be “eyes and ears” on the street who phone police if they spot a crime. The group, known for its red berets and military- style fatigues, plans to patrol the streets of downtown, the West End and Vancouver’s Eastside. The Angels usually operate in groups of six to 10. B.C. has not had enough RCMP officers to investigate some of the province's most serious crimes for at least a decade, according to a confidential 2005 provincial government document. "There are insufficient resources to address the many serious crime investigations, including homicides, abductions, armed robberies, [marijuana] grow operations, home invasions, sexual predators, child pornography, exploitation of children on the Internet, white‑collar crime and high‑level organized crime," says the briefing note, prepared by the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor‑General, and obtained by The Vancouver Sun through freedom of information legislation. The briefing note, dated May 11, 2005, was prepared more than three months after Premier Gordon Campbell announced the province would add 215 RCMP officers in B.C. communities as part of a crime‑fighting strategy that is investing $122 million in policing, corrections and courts over the next three years. The federal Conservative government also pledged in its recent budget to spend $37 million to expand the RCMP training depot in Regina, and $161 million for more police officers and federal prosecutors. But the RCMP now faces the problem of finding enough recruits to fill the new positions. That has created a growing backlog of unfilled, but funded positions, and vacancies created by attrition, including early retirement. Vancouver RCMP Cpl. Tom Seaman said the force has already received the new provincial government funding to hire more officers to fill what has been called the "capacity gap" to deal with unfilled vacancies and increasing demand to shift investigators to such specialized units as the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT). Asked if the RCMP is concerned about the increased shortfall between funded positions and actual RCMP members, Seaman said: "It's a short‑term problem that is in the process of being addressed by aggressive recruiting."
Friday May 05 2006, The Charlotte Observer,
N.C.
Thursday May 04 2006, Winnipeg Free Press
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