Everyone knows that Rupert has a lil bit of a junkie problem, well over the weekend, I helped my sister in law move from the westside, to the eastside, and during the move, I noticed about 13 used needles from the former tenants, that occupied another unit. Some of the needles had no caps on them. Now seeing that I immediately drove back to my place, and decided to call to have a police officer go to the residence to collect them. It was noted to dispatch, that children lived on, and near the residence. Well about 40 minutes later, an officer called to inform my wife that it was not the responsibility of the RCMP to collect Sharp’s, however it was the landlords responsibility. I have personally called before to have the police collect Sharp’s, and it was done quickly. Not to mention, what do we teach our children to do, tell an adult, or call the police. The property is managed by a rental agency, and I doubt that they would carry a Sharp’s container, as the RCMP do, so I shake my head, and ask this, Do the RCMP really care about the health, and safety of all, or are they just there to look pretty, and get a paycheck? Now I know that they do a good job for the most part, however I shook my head over the outcome of the call back, and wonder this, If I can’t rely on the RCMP, then who can I rely on? Funny thing is this, I couldn’t get a cop on Saturday night to collect Sharp’s, however for the Northern Games ceremonies held last night, I could count about 20 cops on foot, makes me wonder where their priorities are.
Personally I find it sickening, that they would respond with an answer like that, so I say, “Way To Go RCMP”, and if there are any cops on here that would like to respond to this, please do so, and I will gladly tell them like it is, “They are as useful as tits on a bull”
That IS shameful shawn and I agree with you, what message does that send our children? I don’t have any answers, Justin Case would have more answers regarding this than I but I would possibly call or drop by the Northern Health Office and inform the needle exchange there and perhaps they could advise you as to what proper protocol is. That certainly is a bad case scenario. I have to keep a Sharps’ kit at my office but have thankfully only collected a couple nearby. Keep us posted please.
So, what is a sharps kit, and where do you get one?
Please correct me if I’m wrong, but doesn’t the City pick up needles on public property?
Soggy, whats the score here, this is up my alley so if you wish to PM me I will do my besat to assist you.
A sharps kit is a container to put needles and other potentially harmful things into. The hospital has them, if you ever look in the wall when you’re in the emergency room, they’re the yellow boxes. The lids let you put things in them, but not get them out.
Thank you,
I will check the hospital out
it wasn’t for the northern games it was for the owelympics . and the torch had their own police so it was them you probably saw.
about the needles yea it would be nice if it was someone other than me picking them up but i wouldn’t think to call the police or someone else to pick them up and let sit there. did you watch them while they were there waiting for the cops to pick them up?
I’m sure you can buy them at shoppers.
If you go to the health center at the Ocean center, you may get them for free and I believe different sizes as well unless that went up with Olympics spending.
Not too sure how to quote, however Decker, as I mentioned, I was moving my sis in law, and noticed them, and yet they were still there yesterday when I finished moving her. Someone mentioned that Northern Health does needle retreval as well, and it was getting into the evening when I called the cops,
and the reason you could not have picked them up is.
Gloves, box and a trip to skeena health for drop off.
HIV is a pretty good reason to not pick them up/transport them. Sure its a low risk but accidents happen.
Personally I would have stopped moving boxes and found a new place to live.
yup lol. clear sign its the wrong area lol
So you were worried enough to go and call the police, to tell them that it’s a danger to children, and now you’re calling the police names because they didn’t respond. Did you stand there making sure nobody got hurt until the police called back? When the police wouldn’t do anything, did you seek other assistance in dealing with the problem?
Clearly you weren’t too worried about this, just worried enough to use it as an excuse to bash on the cops. If they are “as useful as tits on a bull”, what does that say about the person who does nothing but go online and bitch about a problem?
I agree, why didn’t you pick them up if there was a chance for some kid to. Not hard to find something to pick them up with.
An RCMP officer, or Northern Health employee is just as good as an adult with common sense in removing these. Like was said earlier, gloves, and a hard box or container of some sort, is enough to protect you from any danger… if you have common sense not to pick the damn thing up by the sharp part or any part that appears broken or damaged.
Calling the RCMP is great… it’s probably what I would have done as well… but in all honesty, I’m sure they had bigger fish to fry at that time.
This thread is disgusting, it’s not the RCMP’s job to pick up garbage whether or not it is hazardous. It has been said before , but I agree if you had such a big deal with it why not find a pop can and take care of the problem. Instead you pass the buck and then spend 15-20 min writting a thread about it. How long did you wait? How long did you spend writting about it? How long would it have taken to show some civic pride in your community and do your part? “Useless as tits on a bull” you are rediculous, I’d like to see how long you would last in a world without the RCMP.
Not everyone is educated on disposal of contaminated needles.
I would think the police could have at least pointed the caller in the right direction rather than tell them it was not their department.
Most people are grossed out seeing needles laying around and i would guess less informed people would be scared to touch them.
The risks associated with needles are not reduced any by merely using gloves and a sharps container. There are protocols that medical professionals, First aid and first reponders, and police and fireman use to deal with needles.
They are considered extremely hazardous, and usually the risk to themselves and to their ability to do their jobs, usually,outweighs any other.
I do agree that there should be some sort of “mechanism” in place that the general public knows about, when dealing with such hazards.