Re: City Hall Vandellism

[system]

I know our police force works hard, and need a break but when you see 5 police cars at a local establishment for a an hr, its not hard to wonder what their doing!.

I think we need more of a police presents in town, officers on bikes or foot patrol down town. Those flower beds that were destroyed didn’t spontaneously happen in a nana second it took time to do. If you know that an area in town is affected more then another then patrol it more.
Look at Fraser St it’s a joke, you have people who are drunk behind Pappa Jazazzies all the time 24/ 7 drinking or snoozing, same goes for Mariners Park… if you had an officer driving by every hr or so and getting them to move on they would find somewhere else to drink, fight, pass out or  urinate instead of near a pre school, dentist office and other local business.

[system]

@eccentric

Name your credible source.

No? Didn’t think so.

[system]

From Wednesday’s Daily News, the front page story on recently released crime statistics province wide:

'Although the numbers of both federal and provincial RCMP members have increased in B.C., the number of police in Prince Rupert has not followed suit.

The total RCMP Federal Force in B.C. increased from 848 in 2004 to 872 in 2005, and the total RCMP Provincial Force increased from 1,753 in 2004 to 2,047 in 2005.

However, the Prince Rupert detachment has actually decreased from the 36 members it held in 1996, to only 28 members as of January 2006. This means based on 2005 population figures, there’s only one officer per 538 Rupertites, which is substantially fewer officers than the provincial requirement.

“The caseload here would actually be higher [than reported] because our numbers are lower,” said Sergeant Bob Shedden of the Prince Rupert RCMP.

“There should be 36 but there’s only been 28 for the last year-and-a-half. We’re going to slowly start climbing back up to that 36, and by 2010 we’ll be back up, so it’s just a temporary thing.”

The key quote there is “substantially fewer officers than the provincial requirement”

Here’s the entire article, which shows that while some reported offenses are lower than their historical highs of ten years ago, the criminal code offenses in the area (the ones where you get assaulted etc) are on the rise…

Interpret them as you will 

canada.com/cityguides/prince … 569e23feff

[system]

Totally agree with you astrothug!  I am sure that the cops are trying to do their jobs but I bitched about this before and was given many justifications as to why they drove by 3 drunks that were pissed at a bus stop at the Parkside and instead when in to have lunch at McD’s, I would assume. I was actually asked by a HTMF poster  “Did I want a weak cop out there unable to do his job as he missed lunch?” I was made to feel guilty that I had bitched as I was concerned for the bystanders and kids were nearby. They are seeking new volunteers for Citizens on Patrol. Are we going to be told to ignore the drunks, the rowdies and just the major assholes in town as they are not that much of a concern? Bullshit!! My fella and I were at Kwinitza yesterday enjoying a coffee and drove up Bill Murray and there was this drunk snoozing along the sidewalk in the grass there with the tourists milling about and all. I was on my way back to work and  thought of calling the cops, but getting to the point now where I have to speculate as to the importance of the complaint and is it a jusifiable call? It is ridiculous here and getting worse, I know I will get shit for this post but as you can tell I am venting a little. Forgive me but what do we have to do to open the eyes of  City Council , who I assume walk along the same streets as we do and please do not mention there will be a meeting Sick to death of that one…Thanks and bring it on but be nice, have a headache now…

[system]

@codybear5

Totally agree with you astrothug!  I am sure that the cops are trying to do their jobs but I bitched about this before and was given many justifications as to why they drove by 3 drunks that were pissed at a bus stop at the Parkside and instead when in to have lunch at McD’s, I would assume. I was actually asked by a HTMF poster  “Did I want a weak cop out there unable to do his job as he missed lunch?” I was made to feel guilty that I had bitched as I was concerned for the bystanders and kids were nearby. They are seeking new volunteers for Citizens on Patrol. Are we going to be told to ignore the drunks, the rowdies and just the major assholes in town as they are not that much of a concern? Bullshit!! My fella and I were at Kwinitza yesterday enjoying a coffee and drove up Bill Murray and there was this drunk snoozing along the sidewalk in the grass there with the tourists milling about and all. I was on my way back to work and  thought of calling the cops, but getting to the point now where I have to speculate as to the importance of the complaint and is it a jusifiable call? It is ridiculous here and getting worse, I know I will get shit for this post but as you can tell I am venting a little. Forgive me but what do we have to do to open the eyes of  City Council , who I assume walk along the same streets as we do and please do not mention there will be a meeting Sick to death of that one…Thanks and bring it on but be nice, have a headache now…

and I agree with you codybear5.
LOL a weak officer I say a weak excuse, I call bullshit… More often then not I see more then one police car at a local establishment, at times have seen 5 cars and everyone enjoying a good meal…

Like I said this town needs more of a police presents whether their walking around town or biking, I remember a few years back seeing police on bikes. Also the tourists would love seeing an officer walking along Mariners Park.   

[system]

ThePodunkian,

The question was more at Crazy-what’s-it. But since you’ve shown me this–I’m not denying it. Yea–we don’t have as many cops as we’d like in Prince Rupert, and it hurts us when they’re dealing with big cases like drug busts.

However, I don’t think we have a shortage of cops when it comes to dealing with little things like youth vandalism.

Just the other day I called the Police outside the Civic Center because one of the regular public swim attendees was pushing him down and he felt like he was in real danger. A cruiser was there withing 5-7 minutes. In my books, that’s pretty good for a town with a ‘shortage’–especially considering it took the Fire Department 15 minutes to get to PRSS when we had our Fire Alarm go off.

[system]

@eccentric

ThePodunkian,

The question was more at Crazy-what’s-it. But since you’ve shown me this–I’m not denying it. Yea–we don’t have as many cops as we’d like in Prince Rupert, and it hurts us when they’re dealing with big cases like drug busts.

However, I don’t think we have a shortage of cops when it comes to dealing with little things like youth vandalism.

Just the other day I called the Police outside the Civic Center because one of the regular public swim attendees was pushing him down and he felt like he was in real danger. A cruiser was there withing 5-7 minutes. In my books, that’s pretty good for a town with a ‘shortage’–especially considering it took the Fire Department 15 minutes to get to PRSS when we had our Fire Alarm go off.

Well first off, I’m glad that you’ve finally come around to sharing the opinion (combined with some well documented information) with some of us that there is an actual shortage of officers in the city.

I would suspect that your success in having your call handled as expeditiously as possible would hinge on the time of day and the nature of your call, as well as the case load at that moment.

If you’re calling at bar crowd time with a problem, well you might wait a little longer depending on the state of the crowd downtown that night.

As for vandalism and such, it probably doesn’t matter too much how many police officers we have, the nature of vandals is to do things when no one is around and then run… You need a lucky break or two to catch them, though a more aware public more inclined to call when trouble starts might help.

All of that being said, the fact that we won’t be up to full strength again until 2010 tells you there’s a bit of a disconnect from city hall and the needs of the public that elect them. The fact that the majority of the serious crimes seems to be on the increase probably should tell us that a few more officers on the streets might help in keeping a handle on it all, maybe not perhaps, but I think I’d rather err on the side of public safety myself. 

And I wouldn’t be too hard on the fire dept, there’s only something like four on per shift, when your alarm at PRSS went off perhaps they were dealing with a medical emergency as first responders.  Imagine what your wait time might be like if the Mayor ever actually gets his “volunteer” back up plans in place.

As for “Crazy what’s it”, I’ll let you and he renew acquaintances later on, I’m sure it will provide some most excellent background the to dialogue and perhaps be entertaining as well… 

Carry on with the electronic post it notes gang, been an interesting discussion.

[system]

Hey there, ThePodunkian? are you saying that our illustrious Mayor?? is planning to become a volunteer fireman   All in line to hose him down, me first, me first   He wouldn’t be able to take all that pressure    LOL

[system]

@ThePodunkian

All of that being said, the fact that we won’t be up to full strength again until 2010 tells you there’s a bit of a disconnect from city hall and the needs of the public that elect them. The fact that the majority of the serious crimes seems to be on the increase probably should tell us that a few more officers on the streets might help in keeping a handle on it all, maybe not perhaps, but I think I’d rather err on the side of public safety myself. 

I think I brought it up before, but I may as well bring it up again.

The fact that City Hall has a plan in place to increase the number of Police in PR shows that there ISN’T a disconnect, not that there is. Sure, it’s a few years away, but that’s how things work in real life.

Yea, if would be great if City Council could go on Ebay during a meeting and “Buy It Now” us a few cops, but it can’t. The RCMP can’t just up and move a bunch of officers on the fly. It has to be a careful and well thought out migration.

Also, as I said in another post, this is a municipal government. City Council doesn’t have deficit financing, our city must have a balanced budget each year. Because of that, they can only bring new cops into town when the budget allows.

[system]

[quote=“eccentric”]
I think I brought it up before, but I may as well bring it up again.

The fact that City Hall has a plan in place to increase the number of Police in PR shows that there ISN’T a disconnect, not that there is. Sure, it’s a few years away, but that’s how things work in real life…

Also, as I said in another post, this is a municipal government. City Council doesn’t have deficit financing, our city must have a balanced budget each year. Because of that, they can only bring new cops into town when the budget allows.[/quote]

Well it’s all a matter of choices I guess, the city has decided that some extra office help in City Hall for the Mayor, or buying a cable system through CityWest is more important I guess.

Likewise they spent how much money on that Fulton street mess in the last year, Terrace rebuilt an entire downtown section in less time, though they didn’t use city resources, they brought in a company that had expertise in building roads.

The City decided to cut back on the police staffing without any real consulation with the people of the city. Same thing with the Cable thing, no one actually asked the residents of the city if they wanted to own a cable system.

You know, I’m not sure, but somehow I think that perhaps the folks living here and paying the taxes might prefer to have their monies used for issues of more definitive concern to the city.

In the case of CityWest and the cable company, there’s a perfectly good option available for many in the form of Satelite dishes, thus was there a need to spend some 23 million on the cable system?

Probably could have kept the staffing levels at the RCMP up at that kind of coin, and considering the numbers quoted in the Daily News about the rest of the province and policing, it doesn’t seem to be that hard to be staffing those areas of the province that wish to run at a full complement.

I’m not so sold on the idea of the City having the plan either, the entire thing has been a cost cutting measure from the get go and considering the very public ways that the city has spent money in the last few years with little to show for it, it seems that perhaps they have been cutting in the wrong areas.

I can’t wait until Council Watch reads your screed and weighs in…  

 

[system]

Cable vs. Satelite is a choice that most towns enjoy, why should it be different for Rupert.

A private company would have cost more than using City Employees, and in case you were under a false impression, city workers get paid the same no matter where they’re working, so they were no more taxing on the city working on Fulton street than anywhere else. Also, at the time the Fulton Street construction was started, the city didn’t realize the state that the piping was actually in, and the amount of work it would take to fix the issue.

In terms of council worrying about the concerns of the community, only in this thread have I ever heard of any RCMP shortage. Residents seem much more concerned with rats, cats, and the casino than with our RCMP Detachment.

[system]

@ThePodunkian

In the case of CityWest and the cable company, there’s a perfectly good option available for many in the form of Satelite dishes, thus was there a need to spend some 23 million on the cable system?

23 million and my Internet connection isn’t any better.

http://www.speedtest.net/result/175914441.png

[system]

Well eccentric, you say we residents seem more concerned with rats?, cats and the casino…Have you not been reading any of our ongoing and frequent posts as to how pissed off we are that the cops ignore some of the so-called inconsequential deeds performed around the city. Public drunkeness, public urination , vandalism (hello, title of this topic!) and on and on…We are getting pissed off and wishing for so much better for our town that does have such great potential under the right leadership. Let’s hope we make better decisions with the next election as the results of the last one, on the whole, were a disaster…  And we, as the voters, should feel some measure of shame

[system]

city workers get paid the same no matter where they’re working, so

NO they dont unless you mean, different parts of town doing the same thing.
example Ladie doing the flower beds is on a different pay wage then the guy who is painting the crosswalks, and he gets a different pay then the plumbers.

[system]

That’s exactly what I mean—the guys doing the pipes and the roads don’t do the flowers, so they would have been paid the same no matter what, but the work would have been another place in town.

[system]

Yea, i’ll keep the first post updated on the damages.

[system]

Eccentric … you should listen to the RCMP scanner for a while. The computer site is posted elsewhere in this forum. What I hear is mostly domestic disputes and vandalism. And as a Cannabis Connoiseur I am ambivalent about the drug (pot) busts, I am in support of the work the RCMP are doing. Remember that a lot of the things they are doing is SOP, handed down from above and they have no wriggle room to address some situations any differently.

And, as a personal observation, I see the signs of stress in many of the members’ faces.

So help them out.

As they say … it takes a city …

[system]

@codybear5

Well eccentric, you say we residents seem more concerned with rats?, cats and the casino…Have you not been reading any of our ongoing and frequent posts as to how pissed off we are that the cops ignore some of the so-called inconsequential deeds performed around the city. Public drunkeness, public urination , vandalism (hello, title of this topic!) and on and on…We are getting pissed off and wishing for so much better for our town that does have such great potential under the right leadership. Let’s hope we make better decisions with the next election as the results of the last one, on the whole, were a disaster…  And we, as the voters, should feel some measure of shame

Heh, go to a meeting.

Let’s face it, this site is where people complain. Go to a meeting, that’s where council members hear the concerns of the city.

Being on council isn’t a full time job, so don’t expect one of them to come on, read page after page of slander about them, and then hop to it.

[system]

@eccentric

Heh, go to a meeting.

Let’s face it, this site is where people complain. Go to a meeting, that’s where council members hear the concerns of the city.

Being on council isn’t a full time job, so don’t expect one of them to come on, read page after page of slander about them, and then hop to it.

  Well I wouldn’t call what has been posted here any type of slander . As you say, it is a forum to air our complaints and if our councilmen aren’t “full-time” then they should have some to spare to maybe read some of the concerns of the posters here or maybe at least walk down our streets. They can’t be blind, can they? The issues out there can jump up and bite them on their asses and as far as meetings go, well, have they listened before and no, I don’t do the meeting thing but I have friends and colleagues who have. They are still waiting for some sign that they have been heard and NO, that is not slander, but fact.

[system]

@eccentric

Heh, go to a meeting.

Let’s face it, this site is where people complain. Go to a meeting, that’s where council members hear the concerns of the city.

Being on council isn’t a full time job, so don’t expect one of them to come on, read page after page of slander about them, and then hop to it.

i know for a fact that some council members  do come by for a visit and so does our MLA and many more outstanding citizense some lurk some post…