Public safety: fact or fiction? The answer, according to the head of the police union, is

FICTION !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
Soooooooooooo, if the police can't keep yoou safe, who's responsible for you and your family's safety????????????? It does NOT take a rocket scientist to figure that one out..................


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28% of crime victims did not file a report
Date: Oct 21, 2006 11:19 AM
PUBLICATION: The Winnipeg Sun
DATE: 2006.10.21
EDITION: Final
SECTION: News
PAGE: 4
ILLUSTRATION: 1. photo by Marcel Cretain Winnipeg Police Service
Emergency Response Unit. A majority of Winnipeggers polled said they
would pay more property tax to have more cops. 2. photo of LOREN
SCHINKEL 'This is a crisis.'
BYLINE: BOB HOLLIDAY, STAFF REPORTER
WORD COUNT: 451

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Gaps in thin blue line
Too few cops, too much need: union

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Public safety: fact or fiction?

The answer, according to the head of the police union, is fiction.

Loren Schinkel said yesterday cops are no longer able to respond to many
crimes in progress -- even when lives may be in danger.

"The calls for service far outstrip the ability of our members to
respond," said Schinkel. "This is a crisis. It has taken a long time to
get to this point, but tough decisions have to be made."

Schinkel's call for 100 more cops was endorsed by Mayor Sam Katz and
Tory justice critic Kelvin Goertzen.

Police ranks are so thin the street-crime unit was plundered almost as
soon as it was announced. On paper, the unit contains 45 officers but
immediately following a two-week training course, 27 cops were
"temporarily" transferred to other duties.

Seventeen mandatory courses have also been placed on the back burner
indefinitely, according to a statement made by Winnipeg Police Service
Chief Jack Ewatski in an internal police newsletter last month. The
courses -- which include sex crimes, child abuse, aboriginal perceptions
and safety for one-officer cruisers -- were cancelled "to meet the
short-term human resource demands in the coming months, Ewatski stated.

Overtime is expected to be $27 million higher than budgeted for this
year, said Schinkel.

WASN'T AWARE

Mayor Sam Katz said yesterday he wasn't aware of the financial shortfall
but would be asking about it.

"There's no doubt we need more resources. We have a serious dilemma. We
need more police officers," said Katz.

Police spokesman Sgt. Kelly Dennison said neither Ewatski nor members of
the executive were available for comment. Dennison referred all
budget-deficit inquiries to city hall.

In an e-mail, Dennison said "the service deploys its resources to meet
the challenges these gaps present. Any gaps between the actual and
authorized (compliment) do not present a danger to public safety, as our
front-line operations are a high priority."

According to a survey conducted by the union, 28% of crime victims in
the past year did not file a report. "When people don't report crime,
it's out of frustration with the system as a whole," said Goertzen.

Overtime is now being cut back even when 911 calls are in the system,
said Schinkel, using two recent incidents where cops were unable to
answer 911 calls in an appropriate manner as examples.

At 2:57 a.m. on Oct. 14, a terrified woman called 911 saying her door
was being kicked in. Nearby officers at the end of their shift were told
to return to their station. Two hours later, a cruiser answered the
woman's call. "That's like sending the doctor home when the emergency
room is full. It makes no sense," said Goertzen.

In another incident, a 911 hang-up call at 10:55 p.m. on June 6 was
answered at 11:37 p.m. "These are judicial inquiries waiting to happen,"
said Schinkel.

NDP Justice Minister Dave Chomiak did not respond to an interview
request.

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WHO YOU GONNA CALL?

A September survey conducted by Probe Research Inc. on behalf of the
Winnipeg Police Association found 28% of crime victims in the past 12
months did not contact police. The poll also found:
- Women (85%) were more likely to report a crime while only 59% or men
said they would contact police.
- 78% of Residents of the northwest area of the city would report a
crime compared to 68% of residents of southeast Winnipeg.
- Two in five core-area residents (35%) were victimized, while only 15%
of the residents in St. Boniface/St.Vital were crime victims.
- Those aged 18-34 (32%) were the most victimized by crime.
- Four in five core-area residents want additional cops on the street.
- Three in 10 Winnipeggers agree fighting crime is of the highest
priorities for mayor and council.
- Nearly three-quarters (73%) of Winnipeg's adult population would pay
an extra $50 in property taxes to hire 100 additional police officers.
More women (76%) than men (69%) were willing to pay extra.




The Second Amendment IS Homeland Security !