3317 replies to this topic

[Victoria Watcher]

Not having a downtown or many social service agencies serves Saanich well.

[JohnN]

 

A Victoria courtroom erupted in violence Monday as a man who assaulted a Victoria police officer two years ago, leaving her with a traumatic brain injury, was sentenced to 15 months in jail.

 

Aaron Chaignon, 24, had been convicted Aug. 2 of assault causing bodily harm to Const. Jenny Lequesne, whose injuries ended her policing career.

 

Monday was set for sentencing, and sheriffs had cleared the hallway and were at the ready. Only lawyers for the Crown and defence, the accused and his parents, and Victoria Police Chief Del Manak were allowed in the courtroom.

 

Judge Karina Sacca asked Chaignon to stand. As soon as Sacca said the word jail, however, Chaignon began to scream, yelling: “I’m not going to jail. I’m not going to jail. I’m not going to jail.”

 

The sheriffs, who had been waiting in the hallway, rushed in, and the judge made a quick exit.

Chaignon, raging, screaming, kicking and flailing, was taken to the ground as sheriffs tried to calm him.

 

_______________________________________

 

Manak said Monday’s events in the courtroom show “our mental health system has failed us.”

 

“The extreme aggression and violence on hearing the judge’s decision on sentencing really highlights how broken the mental-health system is,” said the police chief.

 

Chaignon has a history of violence against police. Forensic psychiatric assessments found he was at high risk for violence and has a number of mental illnesses, said Manak.

 

“Why is an individual like this, who needs intensive mental health supports, living in supportive housing?” asked the chief. “I have an officer who has lost her identity, her career, her livelihood and suffered a traumatic brain injury. And we have an individual here that takes eight sheriffs to safely control him and take him into custody. It really highlights how changes are needed to our mental-health system. And this is the tip of the iceberg of what our officers are seeing on the street.”

 

Manak said jail is not the place for people like Chaignon with severe mental illness, who need intensive mental-health supports, and serious consideration needs to be given to involuntary care for individuals who cannot function in society.

 

“Why do we have to wait for someone to commit a criminal offence, ruin a police officer’s life before we come to the realization that the system is failing this individual?” asked Manak. “How many people and how many families are going to be destroyed on both sides?”

 

https://www.timescol...officer-4787139

 

Other recent mental health news that headlines "crisis" :
"Province's mental health crisis is getting worse": https://www.timescol...g-worse-4761599
"B.C.’s mental health crisis is bad and getting worse": https://www.vicnews....-getting-worse/

[pontcanna]

B.C. human rights commissioner report outlines racial disparities in policing

The Canadian Press and Times Colonist

 

November 25, 2021

Kasari Govender, B.C.'s human rights commissioner, has released a report with recommendations to the province's special committee on reforming the Police Act.

The office of B.C.’s human rights commissioner says an analysis of data from five police services across the province shows “profound racial disparities” and it has called for changes to address discrimination in policing.

The report from Kasari Govender’s office includes a series of recommendations for the B.C. government as part of a submission to a special committee of the legislature tasked with examining potential changes to the province’s Police Act.

An analysis of data from the five B.C. police services, including Duncan-North Cowichan RCMP, found Indigenous, Black and other groups that identify as non-white were over-represented in arrests and detentions, as well as in mental-health or well-being checks and strip searches, the report says.

 

More: https://www.timescol...olicing-4796534

 

[Victoria Watcher]

That report fails to note how often those groups are involved in crime.

As I have said here before, children, seniors, and women are underrepresented in arrests, convictions, and strip searches. What are we going to do about it!?

[spanky123]

That report fails to note how often those groups are involved in crime.

 

The report also seems to conclude that "mental health incidents" now equals "drug abuse or dealing incidents". I guess the narrative is that everyone with a drug addiction is now also a mental health case. The later sounds better.

[Victoria Watcher]

That report fails to note how often those groups are involved in crime.

As I have said here before, children, seniors, and women are underrepresented in arrests, convictions, and strip searches. What are we going to do about it!?

So what I mean by this is that young men are extremely overrepresented in the criminal justice system. And it’s not because they are single men. Just like the overrepresented FN and PoC are not overrepresented due to their skin colour.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 25 November 2021 - 08:45 AM.

[Dexter]

Semantics

[spanky123]

Well we are already at the place where criminals don't go to jail anymore, I wonder if new human rights comm will recommend that we just not bother arresting people at all now.

 

Oh and how many security personnel does she have working for her? We know Dr BH has two so I would think she would be entitled to at least that.

 

Read her twitter feed to get the real deal. https://twitter.com/KasariGovender. Little do do with human rights and lots to do with her view on socialism.

Edited by spanky123, 25 November 2021 - 08:56 AM.

[Nparker]

One gets the impression she has a rather biased opinion as to what constitutes a human rights violation.

[spanky123]

One gets the impression she has a rather biased opinion as to what constitutes a human rights violation.

 

I think the real problem is that she believes that the NDP created the position for something more than the optics. 

[JohnN]

The BC Human Rights website where you can download the report: https://bchumanright...cations/scorpa/

Also on the website are links to backgrounds reports: a statistical report by Wortley and report on school liaison policing by Samuels-Wortley. 

[JohnN]

That report fails to note how often those groups are involved in crime.

As I have said here before, children, seniors, and women are underrepresented in arrests, convictions, and strip searches. What are we going to do about it!?

The report sneaks in some mention that crime rates of those groups is higher but while it says police have the key role in the system because they are in effect the "gatekeepers", it doesn't really say much about the essential roles of other parts of the justice system, such as BC Prosecution Service, judges, juries, correction services, probation, etc. 

Example: 

As noted by Professor Wortley, higher rates of criminality among racialized communities are not the result of inherent or behavioural tendencies, as such overtly racist theories have been completely discredited by the scientific community. (page 24)

Edited by JohnN, 26 November 2021 - 09:25 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

The report sneaks in some mention of that crime rates of those groups is higher but while it says police have the key role in the system because they are in effect the "gatekeepers", it doesn't really say much about the essential roles of other parts of the justice system, such as BC Prosecution Service, judges, juries, correction services, probation, etc. 

Example: 

As noted by Professor Wortley, higher rates of criminality among racialized communities are not the result of inherent or behavioural tendencies, as such overtly racist theories have been completely discredited by the scientific community. (page 24)

 

 

 

Thoroughly discredited, but then they admit they do not know what the reasons are.  So we will just jump on one, racism in the police force and justice system.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 26 November 2021 - 06:33 AM.

[JohnN]

That report is just one of many dozens of submissions to the Legislative Committee on Policing thats been running for a couple of years now. The latest submissions are linked on the front page of the Committee website on the right side were you click on the date to see who presented that day and the discussion, and then click on HTML or Index to go the reports: https://www.leg.bc.c...-2ndSession-rpa

[JohnN]

Well we are already at the place where criminals don't go to jail anymore, I wonder if new human rights comm will recommend that we just not bother arresting people at all now.

 

Oh and how many security personnel does she have working for her? We know Dr BH has two so I would think she would be entitled to at least that.

 

Read her twitter feed to get the real deal. https://twitter.com/KasariGovender. Little do do with human rights and lots to do with her view on socialism.

Good to watch several twitter feeds that will now be linking to critical analysis of the report, including the largest municipal police force trashed in the report @PoliceVpd.

Also, watching for some faculty at Uni Fraser Valley's criminology dept to say something critical of at least parts of the report: https://www.ufv.ca/c.../faculty-staff/

[spanky123]

Good to watch several twitter feeds that will now be linking to critical analysis of the report, including the largest municipal police force trashed in the report @PoliceVpd.

Also, watching for some faculty at Uni Fraser Valley's criminology dept to say something critical of at least parts of the report: https://www.ufv.ca/c.../faculty-staff/

 

As I mentioned yesterday, you just need to read her twitter feeds to see that she is anything but unbiased and impartial. She spends more time focusing on issues that have nothing to do with human rights and far more to do with her activist past.

[Victoria Watcher]

Members of the Saanich Police Department was recently recognized for its commitment to impaired driving enforcement, through the Alexa’s Team program.

Five officers dedicated to traffic safety removed a total of 108 impaired drivers from Saanich roads in 2020, according to department statistics.

https://www.vicnews....ers-off-roads/#


Drug-impaired driving prosecutions stayed after Saanich police officers falsely certified

The Crown was forced to stay two drug-impaired driving prosecutions after Saanich police discovered a senior officer had falsely recertified the force’s drug-recognition experts between 2014 and 2016.

https://www.timescol...fficers-4770332

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 27 November 2021 - 02:21 PM.

[Nparker]

Members of the Saanich Police Department was recently recognized for its commitment to impaired driving enforcement, through the Alexa’s Team program

Poor grammar. "Members (of the Saanich Police Department) were recently recognized...

[pontcanna]

New police chief for Saanich rose through the ranks

Times Colonist - 3 Dec 2021

Dean Duthie speaks on Thursday at a news conference where he was announced as Saanich’s new chief constable.

Saanich has promoted from within the ranks of its police department and announced Dean Duthie as chief.

Duthie rises from the role of deputy chief, just as his predecessor Scott Green did.

Green served a three-year term and will retire at the end of January.

Duthie, 50, whose selection as chief comes after 26 years with the department, said he is “truly honoured” to follow Green into the role.

 

Also announced was the promotion of Insp. Rob Warren to deputy chief, while Gary Schenk continues as the department’s other deputy chief.

 

More: https://www.timescol...e-ranks-4825489

 

 

 

 

[Victoria Watcher]

The Victoria Police Department is investigating after a police monument at the B.C. legislature was graffitied with an anti-police acronym last week.

VicPD says officers discovered ‘ACAB,’ which stands for All Cops Are Bastards, graffitied on the Bastion BC Law Enforcement Memorial on Nov. 27.

The memorial is a provincial monument dedicated to officers who have lost their lives in service. It includes 129 officers’ names, including six former VicPD members.

https://www.vicnews....t-in-victoria/#

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 03 December 2021 - 12:02 PM.