Re: Amalgamation of police services a palatable option (Letters, March 16)
Spending choices are representative of management. The purchase of the Dodge Charger muscle cars were not practical given their cost within a municipality with no highways, particularly when other jurisdictions have downsized their four wheels to two legs. By using Toyota Corollas, as one example, departments such as NYPD and LAPD have been able to hire more officers – a far more valuable resource than cars.
No one, especially not me, a former cop, questions the professionalism of VicPD – only the management.
I already had this exchange regarding the choice of cars with police Chief Jamie Graham.
The idea is as outdated as his zero-tolerance approach to policing, which excludes the citizenry making the job more difficult.
These choices all come with a high cost and speak directly to choices and priorities.
Regionalization has not worked anywhere. In Ottawa, municipalities are unhappy, as they feel their communities have suffered by giving way to the larger urban agenda.
One such is Carleton, which questions the move but has little choice to soldier on as the Ontario government has said it will not reverse the move.
Amalgamation is not the answer. Like regionalization, it is not supported by this province, as all B.C. Liberal candidates during the leadership race stated.
The choices speak to why VicPD management has not been successful, and why the city now ranks second out of Canada’s most dangerous cities in a 2010 Maclean’s magazine study.
The poorly thought-out spending choices require increased budgets.
Besides, other municipalities will not want Victoria’s failing management as part of their legacy.
William Perry
Victoria
