Lik

Be fair to the VPD / RCMP la. Think back to the Grant McMint (sp?) abduction case. Think back to a fairly recent case when the VPD rescued a Chinese international student from abduction again. Think back to the various drug bust and grow op close-downs they have done. They even recently busted some local Indian gangsters carrying guns in their cars.

Of course, they are not perfect. For the most part, they've been fairly powerless/useless in the recent string of gun violence. The Robert Dziekanski scandal is completely unacceptable, and the recent killing of Van Hubbard is unfortunate at best, and completely unacceptable again at worst.

Comparing them to the @(#$)@*# police in HK, at least the VPD and RCMP have not succumb so low to become the political weapons to suppress the opposition's voices.

-Lik

Lik

10# 布小熊
I quite agree with Cloth Bear's opinion that the police force in Metro Vancouver are suffering from an inadequacy in funding to properly expand their forces. Thinking back, I always remember what the previous police chiefs say about how super difficult it was to expand the VPD. The city's population is growing -- that much is clear. But I can't seem to remember the last time when VPD hired more than 100 person in a given year, and I don't know any figures for the new recruits in other municipalities. How can that keep up with the pace of the city's growth?

The amount of stuff to be done is beyond their means -- so where do you prioritize all these different tasks? Something's gotta give. If they cut back on traffic cops, you get street racing and go into an even bigger budget shortfall. If you cut back on grow op busts, you get all sorts of grow-op related crimes. If you cut back on counter attacks, you get D&D. If you cut back on gang-related units, you get the crime we have now.

I know the police force is not perfect, and I am totally willing to cut them some slack on small stuff. But when things like Robert Dizanski and van Hubbard comes up, that becomes unacceptable.

-Lik

Lik

Are police officers overpaid? I think a newbie starts off at around $45k, and it isn't too difficult to move up to the $70k+ for most cops after 5 years or so. Given the potential risks they face on a daily basis, I certainly wouldn't think they are overpaid.

I really don't think the false/innocent killings and gangster gun shootings matters are due to shortage of man power.
Ultraman 發表於 2009-3-26 18:31

Part of the problem is a lack of funding. A lack of funding results in both a shortage of manpower and perhaps more importantly, a lack of proper training and re-training of the officers. IIRC, the officer that tasered and killed Dizanski has only been with the force for 3 years, and the officier that shot and killed van Hubbard only has 5 years of experience. Given their time in the police force, I'm sure they have seen and dealt with way more rough and tough incidents that us normal people have seen in a lifetime. However, I am really not sure if 5 years' worth of experience is enough. In their previous 5 years, how often did they have to face intense situations where they had to pull out their guns? If you've only done it a handful of times, you are bound to be tense because having the gun pulled out escalates the level of intensity to a whole new level. And when you are tense, you make mistakes.

Are these mistakes forgivable? Absolutely not (even though they are understandable). Short of having actual experience, the second best method to build this experience is through training and re-training. But the local detachments do not have the resources to do that.

-Lik

Lik

我認為唔可以用lack of funding黎做理由.
rainbow-davie 發表於 2009-3-27 01:20

無錢點做 training？Training 唔夠又點識得正確地、本能地去處理突發事件？

同埋，training唔係淨係學堂學果D。新野日日出現，無錢無得 keep up，refresher training 不足，點樣維持最 sharp 嘅狀態去處理突發事件？

-力