By Pepper Parr
May 10TH, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
Part two of a two part article.
Chief of Police Stephen Tanner met with city council virtually last week – covered the full spectrum of what they do for the municipalities in Halton .
Chief Tanner in conversation virtually with Council.
In 2020 there were 44,675 calls for service to the police; impaired driving charges increased by 100% during part of 2020 when bars and restaurants were closed.
Police officers now have much more in the way of personal devices that help get the job done. He said he expects that in the not too distant future they will be able to finger print a person on the spot and be able to access RCMP and Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) data banks. Chief Tanner certainly liked it.
In the past the police used to transport 300 to 400 individuals who were in custody to court hearings. The advent of virtual hearing via Zoom has basically ended the need for that service.
During the question and answer part of the meeting the Chief mentioned that there was going to be an additional court house operation somewhere on the South Service Road, he paused and wondered aloud if he was supposed to be making those plans public.
The comment that caught people by surprise was word that the police were not going to be involved in the public patrolling of parks and other places where large numbers of people gather.
A comment made at council meeting last week that a city staff member had been involved in an incident that put her personal safety at risk brought the approach the Chief had suggested into question.
If the police cannot be called upon when there are public safety issues who do municipal administrations turn to?
During the council meeting mention was made of the mounted patrol Toronto has and the appearances they make in parks. Burlington doesn’t have mounted police officers but there are a lot of bicycles that could be used.
Tickets handed out by police do not result in positive relationships.
Media were not able to learn who the staff person was and just what had happened; only that the Spencer Smith Park Ambassador program was on hold until the there is more information.
During the virtual session with the police Chief Tanner talked about the police relationship with the city. Mention was made of the number of tickets that were handed out by police – did not result in positive relationships.
Expect there to be discussions about the quality of the relationship with the police and the matter of public safety.
To the essential services that show up, thankyou for all that do. The police are essential but don’t seem to realize this. As far as Tanner saying they won’t be at parks this is unacceptable. If they make their presence known it will keep a lid on things. If we had a police service that was more representative of the many cultures that live here trust might be instilled again to this once honorable.
Well said and agree.
If you want to introduce mounted horses to patrol the parks, why not use tricycles? If you want a tricycle, I have one available, but only to the police, please. It’s not for sale and the police get it free to use if they want it! Leave a reply with your particulars and we can make plans to get it to you. I’ll need to see some I.D. of course.