Further Comments on TC Article

Our fractured forces: Is it time to overhaul B.C.'s police system?
After decades of jurisdictional squabbling, and three deadly tragedies, is it time to overhaul B.C.'s police system?
By Lindsay Kines, Katie Derosa and Jack Knox, Times Colonist September 22, 2010

I have added some personal comments on the article last posted from the TC as follows (my comments are capitalised):

A subsequent coroner's inquest recommended the "continued unification of the various police departments" in Greater Victoria.

ONE REASON THIS HAS NOT OCCURRED IS THAT THERE IS NO WILL AMONG THE ELECTED COUNSELLORS TO PURSUE THIS AS IT WILL UNDOUBTEDLY LEAD TO A REVIEW OF THE EXISTENCE OF MULTIPLE MUNICIPALITIES.

Now, growing numbers of current and retired police officers, criminologists and politicians say it's time for B.C. to put public safety ahead of politics, shed the province's fractured policing model, and establish regional forces in major metropolitan areas.

CLEARLY GREATER VICTORIA IS A MAJOR METROPOLITAN AREA WHICH IS ENTITLED TO THE BENEFITS OF A COMPREHENSIVE AND INTEGRATED ORGANISATION WHICH MINIMISES ANY CHANCE OF JURISDICTIONAL CONFLICT.

"And the reason that it will continue is there are just too many bosses," he says. "The RCMP have bosses that are beholden way back to Ottawa. You have municipal bosses that have their own little kingdoms. Albeit, I was one of them and you're only concerned about your area. You're only accountable to your police board. You only care, really, what happens within the boundaries of your jurisdiction."

THIS IS OBVIOUSLY TRUE AS NOTED BY THE QUOTES LATER ON IN THE ARTICLE FROM MUNICIPAL OFFICERS. DEPARTMENTS ARE ALWAYS LOOKING AT THEIR INTERNAL SUCCESS IN ADDRESSING CRIME IN THEIR AREA REGARDLESS OF WHAT OCCURS NEXT DOOR.

On the Lower Mainland alone, there are at least 15 RCMP and municipal police jurisdictions delivering service to two million people. In Greater Victoria, four municipal departments, three RCMP detachments and three 911 dispatch centres serve just 350,000 people.

By contrast, Toronto's 2.6 million population is policed by a single force, as are all other major metropolitan areas in Canada.

"It's now subject-matter based as opposed to based on a geographical area," says Pecknold, who is deputy chief of Central Saanich police. "That's why the border doesn't matter anymore."

IF THIS IS TRUE , WHY HAVE NUMEROUS POLICE CHIEFS AND INSPECTORS WITHIN THE SAME AREA?

But critics say the integrated units only highlight the problems. With so many chiefs trying to find consensus on key crime-fighting issues, the units often take months to establish. They add more layers of bureaucracy, and attempt to blend the different RCMP and municipal cultures -- sometimes with mixed results.

WHILE I DO NOT HAVE THE DETAILS, I HAVE NO DOUBT THAT THERE HAVE IN THE PAST BEEN REGIONAL UNITS DESIRED BY SOME DEPARTMENTS BUT WHICH ARE NOT SUPPORTED BY OTHERS, OR UNITS THAT HAVE BEEN STARTED BUT THEN HAVE SOME DEPARTMENTS PULL OUT.

Greater Victoria has more than a dozen integrated units, ranging from the 18-officer Vancouver Island Integrated Major Crime Unit to a single officer working with exploited youth. Yet there are only two locally developed teams with participation from all capital region departments: the new domestic violence unit, and mental health mobile crisis response team.

THIS REFLECTS THE COMMENT ABOVE.

"These type of incidents will continue to happen no matter how often these police leaders get out there, and say, 'No, we've fixed it. It'll never happen again. Integration is the way to go,' " he said. "That's just a Band-Aid approach. A complete Band-Aid approach to policing here in British Columbia."

Saanich police Chief Mike Chadwick, a 35-year veteran of the force and a staunch defender of the status quo, argues that individual municipalities have the right to "direct the level of service ... from their police department" and that municipal taxpayers should have a say on the type policing they want.

"I'm not so sure if you had a regional department that would be the case," he says. "In Saanich, people pay for a service that we have provided for over 100 years now and they come to expect that.

"Saanich taxpayers don't expect to pay for what goes on downtown."

WITH ALL DUE RESPECT TO CHIEF CHADWICK, WHOM I KNOW TO BE AN EXCELLENT OFFICER, AS A TAXPAYER IN SAANICH AND A FORMER MEMBER OF THE SAANICH POLICE BOARD, I FOR ONE AM WILLING TO PAY FOR WHAT GOES ON DOWNTOWN AND SO ARE MANY OTHERS IN SAANICH. REMEMBER, OUR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES GO DOWNTOWN AND I WANT THEM TO FEEL AND BE SAFE. TO SUGGEST WE SHOULD NOT PAY FOR IT, IS SIMPLY WRONG.

TO SUGGEST, WITHOUT ANY EVIDENCE, AND THERE IS NONE THAT I AM AWARE OF, THAT THE RESIDENTS OF SAANICH DO NOT EXPECT TO PAY FOR WHAT GOES ON DOWNTOWN OR THAT IMPLICITLY THEY DO NOT SUPPORT AMALGAMATION, IS NOT HELPFUL TO A FAIR REVIEW OF THE ISSUE.

Saanich Insp. Bob Downie says he's puzzled by arguments in favour of a regional force.

"You rarely hear people talk about what it is they're fixing," he said. "This whole conversation is around solutions that are looking for a problem. But you never really hear any specific problems that are being remedied.

"In this area, we have traditionally brought people together when we've identified a need to do that. There haven't really been examples of where that hasn't been the case."

WITH ALL DUE RESPECT TO INSPECTOR DOWNIE WHOM I ALSO KNOW TO BE AN EXCELLENT OFFICER, WE ARE FIXING A RISK OF HARM. IF THE LEE CASE WERE TO OCCUR AGAIN, MIGHT A BLEEDING VICTIM BE SAVED IF A COORDINATED DEPARTMENT WERE TO BE ABLE TO ACT AND ENTER THE HOME MORE QUICKLY THAN OCCURRED? THE POINT IS NOT THAT LIVES WOULD HAVE BEEN SAVED IN THE LEE CASE WITH AMALGAMATION. THE POINT IS THAT THE PUBLIC WOULD NOT WONDER IF THE SYSTEM WAS AT FAULT. THAT CONCERN SHOULD NOT EXIST AND IT DOES.

WHEN I CALL ANY OFFICE IN GREATER VICTORIA I SHOULD BE ABLE TO SEEK HELP REGARDING ANY ISSUE IN THE CITY. THAT IS NOT THE CASE NOW.

THERE SHOULD BE NO TIME WASTED ON DEPATEMENTS BEING IN CONFLICT ON DECIDING WHICH RECORDS OR COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM TO BE USED.

OFFICERS SHOULD NOT HAVE TO APPLY TO MOVE FROM VICTORIA TO SAANICH. OFFICERS SHOULD HAVE OPPORTUNITIES FOR ADVANCEMENT THAT A REGIONAL FORCE CAN PROVIDE.

OFFICERS SHOULD HAVE EASY ACCESS TO INFORMATION ON ALL AREAS OF THE CITY AND THE CRIMES WHICH ARE OCCURRING THERE.

Graham, who also served as chief of Vancouver police, said it simply makes sense to have a regional force chasing and apprehending criminals who don't respect political boundaries.

"This isn't about cost," he says. "This is about the ability to deploy more effectively."

OF COURSE THE POLICE SHOULD BE ABLE TO DEPLOY MORE EFFECTIVELY BY USING A REGIONAL FORCE EFFECTIVELY. WILL SOME PROBLEMS BE OVERLOOKED IN THE PROCESS? I EXPECT YES, HOWEVER THE COMMUNITY BENEFIT TO DEAL EFFECTIVELY WITH ISSUES THAT AFFECT US ALL IS OF GREATER BENEFIT.