3334 replies to this topic

[rmpeers]

So brazen that they don’t even care to ride the stolen bikes away...

I guess this is what happens when you have councillors saying we need less police, a mayor justifying crimes, and so on. And then Ben and Ben II have the nerve to ceriticize the police chief. They really do not seem to give a £€÷= about the safety and well-being of their constituents, but even a little genuine empathy or compassion for other human beings would be nice.

[todd]

They're just really desperate. All they need is a hug and an award from the mayor and they will be on the right track.

nparker = society = the real problem

[LJ]

 They really do not seem to give a £€÷= about the safety and well-being of their constituents, but even a little genuine empathy or compassion for other human beings would be nice.

That's not true, they just don't care about those who are homed, working and contributing.

[spanky123]

Maybe it is time for another visit from these guys. Didn't they try to get something going here back in the 90's?

 

http://guardianangels.org/

[FawltyVic]

 

Bray said the association has been helping LoJo businesses arrange a meeting to discuss the issue, but he stressed that the problem exists in other downtown neighbourhoods as well.

 

“We’ve heard from lots of our members about a significant increase in theft and shoplifting that’s occurring and the brazen nature of it — the sense that there’s no police, there’s no enforcement, they’re just walking in and taking stuff and walking out and not too concerned,” he said.

 

“The comment that I’ve increasingly been hearing from our members is that ‘we’re on our own out here.’ And that’s very troubling.”

 

Former Victoria councillor Shellie Gudgeon, who owns the Il Terrazzo restaurant on Lower Johnson, said her business has had its own security for years, but now others in the neighbourhood are seeking similar protections.

She said many of the people in the smaller shops work alone and are worried about their safety in the face of increased shoplifting and intimidation.

 

“So we thought by us all contributing to a private security firm, it would bring a sense of safety back to the street.”

It'll bring a sense of safety back to the streets but that's all it really is, a sense.

 

I haven't been here for a while. I quit my part time job that took place in the downtown core. What I never revealed is that job I had was with a security firm. I decided to cut my losses after being put on hold on the police emergency line on a Sunday in the afternoon. I knew then things had gone to crap. After 24 years it was time to get out.

 

Crime is really bad in the downtown core, especially the shoplifting. I'm not sure what the wait time would be for a shoplifting offense but if I received a 6 hour response time for a vehicle break-in, hiring a security firm is only a good idea if you plan to document the crimes that will happen.

 

Street people know that as long as they don't assault someone, security are not allowed to touch them. I've tried to stop people from taking things, from trespassing and it just doesn't work anymore. They know they'll either be released quickly, be given a court date where they'll show and get a slap on the wrist, or worst case is the police won't respond. I've been insulted, threatened and even told "go ahead, you call the police" and then the perps go about their business in no great rush only for VCP to show up after they've left.

[FawltyVic]

These two clowns were nabbed but the other five high-end bikes stolen from Broad St. Bikes at 8 am last Saturday are still missing. These are not professionals in the familiar sense. Just emboldened idiots. Ask any Downtown business they will tell you the grab-and-dash phenomenon is a daily occurrence. 

 

theftbroad.jpg

There is a stolen bike group on Facebook I joined. The group was formed with the best of intentions, to report lost or stolen bikes and post suspects in these thefts. It got really ridiculous when a small number (but very vocal) of soft hearted lefties shamed people who posted photos of street people suspiciously riding around on new/newer (and sometimes really expensive) bikes.

 

The faces for the street people could be obscured or not even shown and suddenly it was like "How dare you assume all homeless people steal....yadda yadda yadda virtual signal til the cows come home". Moderators didn't tell them to eff off so I dropped out. I figured since I worked in the downtown core I could assist in recovering stolen bicycles. Sadly some people would rather a crime be committed then offending someone.

[A Girl is No one]

So true! I remember posting a pic of a homeless looking guy painting over a bike, right in the library square a few years ago and that’s what I got from the FB group. Needless to say that I dropped out.

I really don’t understand what is going on in people’s minds. Surely not ALL street people are criminal. But the criminals give the rest a bad rap. So if we arrested the bad ones and got them off the street, it would make life a lot better for the others.

Edited by A Girl is No one, 18 January 2020 - 07:22 AM.

[DustMagnet]

Sadly some people would rather a crime be committed then offending someone.

 

It's just that offending someone is the greater crime.

[aastra]

 

Times-Colonist
January 16, 2020

Business owners in Victoria’s trendy LoJo district are considering hiring their own security firm due to a rise in shoplifting and the inability of police to respond in a timely way, the Downtown Victoria Business Association says.

“We’ve heard from lots of our members about a significant increase in theft and shoplifting that’s occurring and the brazen nature of it — the sense that there’s no police, there’s no enforcement, they’re just walking in and taking stuff and walking out and not too concerned,” he said.

"So we thought by us all contributing to a private security firm, it would bring a sense of safety back to the street."
 

Bray said his association has a good relationship with the police department, “but the reality is they don’t have the resources to deal with this.

“We’ve identified this now for two years that we need increased police presence and resources downtown. We need the crime-prevention unit re-established. Those are the groups that helped to prevent these crimes in the first place.”

 

 

 

Times-Colonist
April 28, 1994

Victoria police are well on their way to removing the need for private muscle to keep downtown shoppers and storekeepers safe, Police Chief Doug Richardson said Wednesday.

Richardson said enforcement on Yates Street, where merchants have hired private security guards, has been stepped up and police will soon be using a mobile police headquarters to improve response time of officers downtown. "I believe we are turning the tide on this," said Richardson.

He was responding to a Times-Colonist story that private security is being hired even though Victoria has more police per capita than any city in the province and spends almost the most per capita on police.

The story prompted more calls for "value-for-cash" in Victoria police operations from Coun. Bob Friedland.

 

...

Edited by aastra, 18 January 2020 - 12:35 PM.

[Mike K.]

Indeed. And on that city block, which was known back then as the candy shop as you could get any drug under the sun there, off-duty cop Courtney Walls was murdered when trying to stop a fight on Douglas near Johnson.

The drug dealing is now centred around the 800 and 900 blocks of Pandora.

[Victoria Watcher]

The Victoria Police Department is hoping to pilot a new project that would see steady blue lights mounted on its Charger vehicles to make police presence more visible, a first in Canada.

Since July the Victoria Police Department has been working with the provincial government to try to get approval for the lights, as is required under the Motor Vehicle Act Regulations. It has also enlisted members of the Delta Police Department to also express interest in the idea.

In a Freedom of Information (FOI) release, emails between the Ministry of Transportation and the Victoria Police Department show slow progress on the initiative.

_____________________

Within the correspondences, VicPD said their reasoning behind the request was because “VicPD has heard loud and clear that our citizens would like to see more of our officers in the community.”

____________________________

Despite a lack of research, pilot planning or provincial approval, as of Nov. 20, 2019 the VicPD had already purchased six light bars with the steady blue light option. Costs have not been disclosed, but internal memos indicate both new lights and retrofitting older lights are low-cost investments.

 

___________________________

 

Victoria resident Stephen Harrison, who filed the FOI request, posted his findings online and called the Victoria Police Department “incredibly presumptuous” for purchasing the lights before approval, and that the move was just one step closer to a “surveillance state.”

 

 

https://www.vicnews....sed-visibility/

 

 

Within the correspondences, VicPD said their reasoning behind the request was because “VicPD has heard loud and clear that our citizens would like to see more of our officers in the community.”

 

 

citizens would like to see more officers?  literally see more because of bright blue lights?  not actually have more officers?

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 24 January 2020 - 08:05 PM.

[rmpeers]

The Victoria Police Department is hoping to pilot a new project that would see steady blue lights mounted on its Charger vehicles to make police presence more visible, a first in Canada.
Since July the Victoria Police Department has been working with the provincial government to try to get approval for the lights, as is required under the Motor Vehicle Act Regulations. It has also enlisted members of the Delta Police Department to also express interest in the idea.
In a Freedom of Information (FOI) release, emails between the Ministry of Transportation and the Victoria Police Department show slow progress on the initiative.
_____________________
Within the correspondences, VicPD said their reasoning behind the request was because “VicPD has heard loud and clear that our citizens would like to see more of our officers in the community.”
____________________________
Despite a lack of research, pilot planning or provincial approval, as of Nov. 20, 2019 the VicPD had already purchased six light bars with the steady blue light option. Costs have not been disclosed, but internal memos indicate both new lights and retrofitting older lights are low-cost investments.

___________________________

Victoria resident Stephen Harrison, who filed the FOI request, posted his findings online and called the Victoria Police Department “incredibly presumptuous” for purchasing the lights before approval, and that the move was just one step closer to a “surveillance state.”


https://www.vicnews....sed-visibility/




citizens would like to see more officers? literally see more because of bright blue lights? not actually have more officers?

Well of course the Needs More Spikes guy doesn't like it. But is there there any evidence at all that the VicPD is some sort of brutal/fascist/racist/police state operation, as the Naughty Cop fanfic writers seem to believe?

[Spy Black]

Blue lights on top of police cruisers?

 

Who cares? 

I mean, does anybody who actually has a life really even consider this a topic of even minor worth?

 

It's completely bizarre what people will latch onto as an issue worthy of discussion in a City that's literally going down the toilet. The COV really needs its residents energies to be redirected into getting rid of the current COV Council and electing a Council that actually gives the Police Department the required "tooth" and support to clean the downtown core up and make the streets safe again for the tax paying residents who pay Councillors wages.

 

Blue lights on the roof of cop cars? ..... pffffffft.

[Nparker]

...Blue lights on top of police cruisers? Who cares?...

It's the sort of thing that ignites a social media frenzy and distracts the masses from the abysmal governance we witness all around us today; a tactic employed by both the left and the right of the political spectrum.

[Bernard]

I have long thought the CoV police should focus on getting the homeless people and drug dealers to move to other municipalities.   Use the squad cars to drive them to Langford, Sooke, Sidney, Oak Bay (especially the Uplands).   

[Victoria Watcher]

sounds a bit racist and sexist.  notices receive priority based on gender and ethnicity.

 

 

https://www.vicnews....missing-person/

 

 

 

“In the past people might hear that Jane Doe was missing, and learn that she was a sex trade worker and think that of course she was missing because she led a transient life,” Osoko said. “In reality, she might have been on Pickton’s farm.”

 

Now, anyone who fits several (or in some cases one) of the following criteria are considered high risk, prompting an immediate issuance of a missing person call out: if they are under 18, female, Indigenous, suffer from mental or physical health issues, suffer from drug addiction, are involved in high-risk trafficking, have a medical diagnosis of Alzheimer’s or dementia, or if going missing is uncharacteristic.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 04 February 2020 - 05:58 AM.

[Greg]

sounds a bit racist and sexist.  notices receive priority based on gender and ethnicity.

 

 

https://www.vicnews....missing-person/

 

 

 

“In the past people might hear that Jane Doe was missing, and learn that she was a sex trade worker and think that of course she was missing because she led a transient life,” Osoko said. “In reality, she might have been on Pickton’s farm.”

 

Now, anyone who fits several (or in some cases one) of the following criteria are considered high risk, prompting an immediate issuance of a missing person call out: if they are under 18, female, Indigenous, suffer from mental or physical health issues, suffer from drug addiction, are involved in high-risk trafficking, have a medical diagnosis of Alzheimer’s or dementia, or if going missing is uncharacteristic.

 

Sounds like data-driven decision-making to me.

[Victoria Watcher]

Sounds like data-driven decision-making to me.

 

well so is police "profiling" but the left believes that's racist.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 04 February 2020 - 07:30 AM.

[Greg]

well so is police "profiling" but the left believes that's racist.

 

One is risk assessment, the other has "presumption of innocence" issues. They aren't really analogous.

[todd]

I have long thought the CoV police should focus on getting the homeless people and drug dealers to move to other municipalities. Use the squad cars to drive them to Langford, Sooke, Sidney, Oak Bay (especially the Uplands).

wrap a napkin around a stick and call for a ride

Edited by todd, 04 February 2020 - 07:53 AM.