Do you think one police officer for every 1,067 residents in your City is good? Or even safe for law enforcement? Or even effective? Of course not – but that is what we have in Port Coquitlam.
Over the last four years I have discussed at Council meetings and budget input sessions that we have one of the worst police officer to citizen ratios in the Province. I was told that is not the case…however according to the stats, PoCo has the second worst ratio in British Columbia.
We are then told when IHIT – Integrated Homicide Investigation Team – numbers are added into the mix, our ratio drops down to roughly 850 citizens per officer. Impossible – IHIT does not have that many officers assigned to PoCo. As well, other municipalities have access to the same IHIT officers so their figures would “come down” if the “PoCo math” is used. In short, we are still bottom of the barrel.
The latest dodge at the last budget input session is that our City’s crime solve rate is good so our ratio is fine. To me a “good” solve rate would be 80% or more. PoCo’s crime solve rate? 13%. Not a misprint – 13%. This figure is also one of the lowest in BC.
Our City has won awards for our financial reporting and PoCo administrators stress that we are in the middle of the pack for our tax rate. For whatever reason, the City will not admit we are lacking in police and other protective services.
Here is the challenge – in this economic downturn and since the City did not properly maintain policing levels in the good times, we are further behind the eight ball. That said, 50% of the respondents in a poll on this website last month said they would be willing to pay a 7% tax bill if policing was improved. An additional 17% said if other services were improved, such an increase would be fine.
We need to hire roughly 30 new police officers and three bylaw officers over the next three years in order to keep pace with our population growth and to catch up on our sliding police staff rate.
I want to be safe. I want our crime solve rate to improve. I want our police to be safe. I want our police to be valued by our City. I want our City to spend tax dollars on policing. Now.
UPDATE: Here is a link to the 2007 report which shows on page 41 our ratio at 929 citizens for every 1 police officer and here is a link to the 2008 report which on page 30 has many of the figures mentioned in the above post.
davedotca
davedotca
davedotca
davedotca
davedotca
davedotca
davedotca
davedotca
davedotca
davedotca
The way the RCMP have disgraced themselves lately is shameful. With all of the bad press they have received lately, it makes it hard for me to trust them at all. I have a feeling I am not alone on this.
Then why did you promise to vote against any budget that had a tax increase greater than 5% when you were campaigning for city council. You are not consistent.
TRAVIS – I do believe some of the police are giving all cops a bad name. My experience with the Port Coquitlam police at meetings and charitable functions has been positive.
HARRY – I changed my position once I found out the City Council had misrepresented the cost of the Coast Meridian Overpass (I wrote about that on this website) and when they knew – but did not share with the public nor other candidates during the election – they were already in talks to take out an additional $25 million loan.
As I wrote in today’s blog, we were also told our policing numbers were better than they truly are.
I made my position based on the knowledge I had at the time. Once the truth came out, I very openly on this website, in unpublished letters to the editor, at a budget input session (in December or January) and at council meetings (in December 2008 and January 2009) explained my position.
Had I had the information I have now – which the past Council had – I would have had a different stance.
Gangs are everywhere,illegal massage parlours, prostitution, drug dealings are all over Poco and council is turning a blind eye.
You want to open a casino? Stats and reports are not even closed to what I have witnessed at the Coq. casinos and what people have gone through and starting to join organized crime and leads to gangs. Maybe there is somekind of back door dealings with our Mayor and the Best Western owner from the news article over the weekend. There will be many others protesting this issue and my family will be the first one there.
People are losing their jobs and what makes anyone thinks you don’t have to walk into the casino and lose your money. Well, look at the Coq. casino. I have witnessed and talk to many addicts and once were novice players, hard working residents from Poco and Coq and money laundering are going on inside that casino and more teens turning legal age have been joining the organized crime and entering the casino.
How much greed can you get when this pathetic connector is costing Poco residents millions and won’t even bring them near the highways.
And Dave, where is the senior discount that you were strongly in favor of supporting us seniors and where is your committment for more cops when you are supporting a casino? Of course, our govt and local govt won’t admit what goes within those casinos and does contribute to gang shootings because they just want to pump money into the city.
Who was so against revenue sharing and the casino opening in Coq? Maybe I should present some evidence of what went on at some of those meetings some years back. I commend this current council team for moving forward on day to day business, but don’t even go near this casino issue unless you are all special friends.
Rob – I spoke in favour of the senior’s water grant leading up to the vote in December where the grant was defeated by council (http://www.dave.ca/wp/2008/12/15/25-million-loan-for-the-cmo-and-no-water-grants-for-seniors/) in a 4 to 3 vote broken down by the four past Council members voting against the grant and the three current members voting for the grant.
I do not believe my over four year drive at council and budget meetings to increase our protective services staffing levels is in conflict with my interest to explore the feasibility to have a casino in PoCo. I am interested in assembling all the facts and learning more from residents and stakeholders. Looking strictly at the financial benefits to the city and non-profit groups, it is hard to ignore. But one needs to also look at the social ills which such a facility (or any development for that matter) will create and see if the benefits outweigh the risks. This same measure is need when other possible “addict driven industries” (alcohol / bars come to mind quickly) are located in our city.
What I do know is this single $25-million loan the City took out for the Coast Meridian Overpass cost overruns could have brought our police staffing levels up to the Provincial “standard”; various social programs could have been funded; and our city improved without the need for a casino or other outside sources of funding.
In the end we need to fund our protective services. In talks I have had in the past days with City officials, it appears they too are on board but are challenged with how to finance this and the dozens (hundreds?) of other needs and wants in our community. That said, PoCo Council usually does the right things – not always quickly – but more times than not, correctly.
thank you Dave!!
Why are we continuing to open liquor stores and that also contribute to crime in this city.
I have spoken to most of my church members and neighbours and so far, 40/40 have opposed and will bring everyone to a big rally if this issue goes through. Council is here for the people and not for themselves. Look at what happend with the highrise and now the connector. Did they even listen to us, ‘no!’ This time, it’s going to be a different whole new ball game and hope our Mayor is reading this.
thanks
I am just reading over the blogs and seeing that POCO seems to hive a high crime rate.
This was not something the our realtor told us when we presented the possibility of buying this lovely house…
We have been renting in Vancouver for six years finally to find a affordable home on Shaughnessy street in Poco. Am I now to tell my small family that we have signed off to a house in a high crime area? I relise that there is crime every were, it is the level that makes it livable.
Your thoughts please and a possible link to a site that shows me the facts on the crime rates.