In response to a news article written by Crystal Rhyno and published on Page A1 and A2 of the Advocate on Jan. 13, headed Extra police will cost taxpayers, relating to an increase in taxes due to a proposed necessary increase in police manpower in Red Deer:
As a senior who has lived in Canada for two years, the last year in Red Deer, I find it rather confusing to a statement reportedly stated by Coun. Buchanan, a retired police officer, that the city “needs more boots on the streets.”
As a person who spends time walking in the city centre and other times driving to and from various parts of the city, the only time I have seen police boots on the street is on Taylor Drive on nice summer Sundays stopping “speeders” in private vehicles (no commercial trucks out on a Sunday), these private vehicles driving perhaps a little over the posted speed limit but the road being reasonably free of vehicles.
I was born and educated in the U.K. and in my 40s left and lived in two European countries for 33 years prior to coming to Canada to be close to my grandchildren. In those three countries, police were always in abundance wherever you went and on foot, and in addition to keeping the areas they patrolled in free of crime, they also assisted anyone who actually needed any kind of assistance.
As a youngster, I remember seeing lots of pictures of the RCMP in their splendid red uniforms riding horses, and although I was not expecting them to be still riding horses, since living in Canada I have been rather taken aback by the generally poor standard of policing by the RCMP.
For example, just one policeman driving a huge car. If a particular policeman is called to a problem scene, he then has to call for backup, meaning another policeman has to drive to the scene in another huge car and sometimes an additional car as well. Rather an expensive exercise when I would have thought that two policemen in a smaller vehicle would have been more economical, as was the case in the three other counties I have lived in, and perhaps the monetary savings would perhaps allow the employment of more police if necessary without any increase in taxes to the residential taxpayers.
Wherever I have lived, I have always read the local newspapers and in both the provinces I have lived in Canada, British Columbia and Alberta. I have yet to read anything positive about the RCMP.
After arriving in Red Deer, I was driving towards the city centre and was not absolutely certain if I was heading in the right direction to my destination and came upon two policemen (with two cars) with some sort of photo equipment to stop private vehicles who were allegedly speeding. I pulled over, waited until they were quietly standing alongside one of the vehicles and politely asked them for directions. Their response to me, and not in a pleasant manner, was “Can’t help you” and “I don’t know.”
I have also driven to and from Calgary on three occasions and never sighted a single police car.
One of the areas I drive daily is through the intersection of Taylor Drive and 67th Street. When heading south and waiting for the lights to turn green in my favour, nearly every time they do, as many as six cars heading north and in the left lanes for turning left onto 67th continue to do so. Surely the police check these intersections and know what I describe happens but I have never once seen police in attendance.
I don’t know how many police are on duty at one time, I don’t know how many of them are actually outside patrolling the city, how many police cars are out at one time, and how many pairs of boots are out on the street at one time and where these boots are located, because in my opinion total costs of using the RCMP in Red Deer could be greatly reduced. And finally, do the councillors of Red Deer know exactly what the police are actually doing for the total time they are on duty, because they seem to be a law upon themselves (pardon the pun)?
James Taylor
Red Deer