66 replies to this topic

[aastra]

I'm not going to disagree about the sirens. To my ears, sirens can sometimes seem to be continuous background noise in Victoria (they're not all police vehicles, of course). But I've known plenty of people who claim you hardly ever hear sirens in Victoria.

Perceptions of sound can be funny. Look at the travel reviews. They're pretty much split 50/50. Half of them say Victoria is library quiet and the other half say Victoria rages with noise at all hours. Even when perceived from different rooms in the same hotel on the same night.

Maybe debating the propagation of sound from traffic and emergency vehicles is one of those uniquely Victorian things? Part of the local culture?

So are Victorians really calling the police about every little thing? Is VicPD really responding to every little thing, as if every little thing were an emergency? (I admit I laughed as I typed that, "Is VicPD really responding to every little thing?"). Let's pretend for the moment that VicPD is really responding to every little thing. So does VicPD never catch on that all of these trivial calls don't even merit a response, let alone an urgent response with sirens blaring? Or maybe all of the sirens you hear are in fact related to urgent calls? All I know is, the Victorians that I know are reluctant to call the police for anything. It can be amazing the things people will tell you they saw, and when you ask them if they called the police they think you're silly for even suggesting it. How about that speeding motorcyclist? So did we ever determine if anyone actually did call 911 about that? Some witnesses claim they did call but the authorities said there were no records of any calls.

A few years ago in another city I had cause to call 911 about a chimney fire that I had observed. An acquaintance in Victoria later cautioned me about calling 911 for every little thing. In other words, just because you see a house on fire doesn't mean you should be bothering the fire department about it.

[aastra]

How about public urination? Is that a Victoria thing? Did anyone mention that already?

[LJ]

If people don't call the police as much why do there seem to be sirens and police zipping around non-stop?? Is this another false impression? I've been other places, didn't notice half as many sirens. The police here will turn on their siren, blast through a red light, stop in the middle of the road blocking traffic, all to be "back up" at the scene of a cooperative person getting a speeding ticket.

How do you know what they are responding to? Do you monitor every call? Do you follow every police car to the scene of the incident? I'm calling BS.


It would take something pretty serious for me to call the police about though. I feel I'm just as likely to get my face bashed in or brought up on some trumped up charges than I am to see any justice/solution to a crime. I also don't want to subject other people to that. So if there's some teen smashing bottles down the street, or a party a bit out of control, or a suspicious homeless person, I have to weigh "Is the crime they're committing worth a potentially horrific encounter with one of these oddly prevalent "bad apples" in the police department? Their potential death or beating in police custody? Treatment in our backwards medieval prison system?"

Really, you call the police about an incident taking place and you get beat up?
Has this ever happened to you? What would cause you to feel that? Has it happened to anyone you know? You weren't one of those teens breaking bottles were you?

[dasmo]

Chuckle, Public urination very well might be....
I had in interesting chat with a fellow yesterday at a house concert (another interesting Victoria thing) about the number of micro breweries here. I also know the owners of the alibi room in Van and they also noted that there is a proliferation of good brewing on the island and they stock a number of our Beers. Just in Rock Bay we have Phillips, driftwood, Vancouver island, Moonunderwater, and now Hoyne (with the best IPA I have ever tasted). Add to this the other micro brewers (like lighthouse in ESQ) and all the brew pubs like Swans and Spinnakers, I'm adding micro brew consuming as another piece of the puzzle that creates Victoria's unique culture. (again, each individual thing is not only here, rather each individual thing creates a tapestry that combines to make a unique culture)

[Kikadee]

Re: Victoria culture, or what makes Victoria distinct and unique: I can't think of another place I've been where people actually incorporate huge, mossy rock outcrops into their homes, yards, and gardens, and I wonder if this doesn't make Victoria rather unique. I mean, the propensity to build on top of a giant stone hill instead of blasting, or to eschew grass in order to enjoy the natural landscape.

[aastra]

Some odd things in here:

http://www.huffingto..._n_5638221.html

[Mike K.]

I'm in Ottawa right now and man, do they NOT have a breakfast culture here. We had trouble finding a place to eat on Sunday morning. I'm starting to think that this talk of breakfast thing Victorians talk about has some real substance.