The problems cannot be solved by running around in police cars responding though with no plan, no training and no objective measurement. Not to mention creating bottlenecks in remand, court dates, provincial and federal prisons, parole, mental health assessments, halfway houses and social work. It is so slow turning the policy ship around. Sadly, one of the least powerful of the government bodies in making change is municipal governments. A mayor and council lack sufficient legal, budgetary and regulatory resources to do the work asked of them. But they can do something. On the local side, the police are a powerful tool but can be a blunt one. As we near a city election, here is what some politicians should commit to.
- Daily in-person police briefings carried out on city website and social media. If crime is a crisis then treat it like one and keep the public informed seven days a week. The question of whether enough information about attacks on women on public trails last year still stings. This includes news releases and briefings.
- Commit to bodycams for police and a policy for their release in investigations and for public transparency. Likewise, all patrol cars should be equipped as well. For those that say cameras have no effect on anything, they are wrong. Be prompt about release. Nothing is more corrosive than holding back footage or editing it to dissemble to the public.
- Support a CCTV camera program. Ensure that a consultation phase takes place, that it applies to public places where there may be a pressing need, have rules in place on privacy, have signage to indicate public security and who is watching and how long data is retained. Independent audit and evaluation.
- More police on the beat. The patrol car responding to crimes as they happen or after they happen will always be required. But true prevention is probably only going to occur with a cop who knows every business in his area, knows the kids, knows the schools and builds trust and by his mere presence is able to prevent things from happening.
- More community patrols and supports for them. Bear Clan Patrol and other community patrols are needed and wanted. They should have community offices to store patrol equipment such as flashlights, communications, orange vests, water, first aid kits, disposals for sharps. It is very hard to commit crimes when 10 to 30 people in orange vests walk down the street. Moreover, it is a lot easier to accept help when a group like this comes by to offer food or water.
- Hire more crime analysts. Good data means more safety, security and policing. Today's property crime is not just pawn shops but social media platforms where stolen good are sold. Crimes taking place on the Internet require expertise there. Breaking encryption, GPS tracking, analyzing numbers in where, when, what and how crimes are taking place can determining the who and why of crime. For example: if a whole bunch of crimes take place with bear spray, the analysts find out how this crime takes place. Where is it coming from? This can lead to who.
- Safety audits to determine parts of city that could use more police presence, better lighting, mirrors, panic buttons, safety walks or any other assistance.
- Safety also means looking for fire hazards, needles and neglect that can lead to crime or safety issues. Not every matter a city deals with is a police issue. Illegal dumping, fire threats and buildings left to rot all lie within city domain. Not the province or the feds.
- Lastly, zoning. Single room occupancy used to support 1,000 people in Winnipeg. The city zoned it out, drove it out and now we have 1,500 homeless people. An aggressive plan to approve SRO needs to take place. Much like the cannabis industry, it is better to legalize, zone and regulate. The closure of all the downtown Main Street hotels has led to rampant homelessness. While the hotels are never coming back, the housing lost needs to be replaced. There are some fine examples of former hotels converted to SRO along Main. If we had 30 more hotels converted like the Occidental, the burden on homelessness would be far less.
It might seem overwhelming but the city has to get away from the crisis of police and fire rushing all over the city in war mode with sirens blazing. If it is truly a war then every city employee should be out on the streets emptying out garbage, taking control of boarded up houses and buildings, cleaning up needles, assisting every single person in a transit shelter to get housing this year. Right now. Not later. See above on SRO. That is how a crisis is handled. Treat it like forest fire and act like in an emergency if that is what gets the job done.
A reporter recently said that candidates in the election were making promises that had no basis in reality because they were never fully costed or assessed as being possible. In fairness, many on council don't even get good budget numbers as they seem reserved only for the mayor and executive policy committee. How decisions get made sometimes doesn't even get to the mayor's office.
Still, the above should be achievable through zoning and management of fire and police. The city doesn't have to build thousands of units of housing on their own. It can come through zoning. Extraordinary spending is not needed. Just stop driving the lowest cost of housing to extinction thinking you are cleaning up the city. This power lies within the city and with council to do this.
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