RCMP Watch

(Chilliwack Times Letters to the Editor)

Editor:

As the operations officer and acting officer in charge of the Upper Fraser Valley Regional Detachment providing policing services to the City of Chilliwack, District of Kent/Agassiz, Village of Harrison Hot Springs, District of Hope and community of Boston Bar, I am compelled to respond to an article written by a Mr. Mike Hodge, posted in the Chilliwack Times edition of Tuesday, Aug. 5, entitled ‘Closing the Empress won’t solve crime problem.’

This article is fraught with inaccuracies and misinformed comments maligning the City of Chilliwack’s crime prevention strategies and the dedicated RCMP members who strive everyday to provide their community with a high level of policing.

The Chilliwack RCMP and the City of Chilliwack have enjoyed an excellent partnership addressing crime issues. In October 2004, as part of our Crime Prevention Strategy a Task Force, comprised of representatives from RCMP, city bylaw, city fire deptartment, city engineering, city building inspectors, health inspectors and community social services, was created to actively deal with areas within the community that have been identified through building code, electrical code and fire code infractions that make these areas unsafe for the surrounding community and the residents. These areas include crack shacks, derelict motels, houses, and apartments that if left unchecked, become havens for criminal activity which further threatens the safety of the community. This task force, in partnership with the owners and residents of these buildings, has had numerous successes in reducing and eliminating these sites from the community and thus providing a safer community for all.

Between January 2007and July 31, 2008 the police responded to a 44 per cent increase in calls for service to the Empress Hotel.

These calls involved assaults, robbery, drug trafficking, theft, public mischief, drug possession liquor offences and theft from vehicles. The Empress Hotel had become both an unsafe place for the residents through its building, fire and electrical code infractions, but also a haven for criminal activity. The business community and public complained about this criminal activity surrounding the Empress Hotel and expected action. Through collaborative work with the new owners, the city’s task force and the RCMP, the owners decided to close the hotel in preparation for renewal. Social services agencies were actively involved with those residents who were displaced. Closing the Empress Hotel will reduce crime in the downtown core as the criminal element will no longer have a base from which to operate or frequent.

Another pillar of our crime prevention strategy is the Chilliwack RCMP Crime Reduction Unit who identify prolific offenders, those five per cent of society who are responsible for 95 per cent of the reported crime, and actively target those individuals for prosecution. This unit is dedicated to gathering intelligence to prevent crime through arrest and prosecution of these prolific offenders, many of whom are currently in jail serving sentences for crimes committed in Chilliwack.

The Chilliwack RCMP Crime Prevention Unit is actively involved with identifying our less fortunate homeless individuals and providing them with solutions to get them off the streets. The unit is actively involved through partnerships with the social agencies in Chilliwack to assist the homeless and have had a number of successes in providing better life situations for these individuals.

Mr. Hodge states that “Vancouver is pushing its hard core criminal element out of Vancouver and Chilliwack is the destination of choice.” I can emphatically advise the public in Chilliwack that the RCMP members working this community have not seen this to be true. Our street checks, criminal investigations and intelligence probes do not support the assumption that Vancouver criminals are moving to Chilliwack or the Upper Fraser Valley.

Mr. Hodge goes on to state, “In the next election a good platform would be the creation of a police force dedicated to the citizens of Chilliwack, i.e., Chilliwack Police Force.” He further states, “One of the ongoing problems with the RCMP providing Chilliwack policing services is, the RCMP police officers do not stay in Chilliwack long enough to get to know who the criminals are. From what I understand the average tour of duty in Chilliwack for an RCMP patrol officer is four months.” Mr. Hodge’s assumptions are completely false. His comment that Chilliwack RCMP members are not dedicated to the citizens of Chilliwack is an affront to both the members of the RCMP who police this community and to the citizens of this community who receive their services. The RCMP members currently posted to Chilliwack have been posted in the community from between six months to 19 years.

The average tenure of a member in Chilliwack is 3.5 years and we have a five-year commitment for new constables to remain in the UFVRD. I can further assure the public that these members do know who the criminals are and actively prosecute those criminals within the scope of legal statutes. Our general duty members patrol our community responding to calls for service with the aim of keeping our city safe. They do this every day, often under stressful and dangerous conditions, without fanfare. To imply they are not dedicated to the citizens of the community they serve is a terrible insult.

Mr. Hodge also states ‘Further proof the RCMP policing in Chilliwack is not working is all the unsolved alleged organized crime killings and shootings in Chilliwack in the last two years.’ Again, his assumptions and statements are false. There have not been any ‘organized crime’ killings in Chilliwack in the past two years. In fact, the two homicides in Chilliwack were acts of random violence which are not related to any organized crime groups. Furthermore, the shootings which have occurred involved rival thugs who do not deserve the moniker of ‘organized crime.’ Each of these events are under active investigation and/or charges are before the courts.

I find Mr. Hodge’s use of Mr. Smith’s situation and plight reprehensible. He uses Mr. Smith as a hook to have readers read his attack on the RCMP and the city officials. Mr. Smith is entitled to a safe home and clearly the Empress Hotel can not be deemed a safe place to live. Mr. Smith’s circumstances are complex and will require complex solutions with the proper authorities. Mr. Smith is entitled to the privacy of dealing with his situation without Mr. Hodge using him for his own interests in a public forum.

The Chilliwack RCMP members in partnership with our city officials and community partners are very dedicated in keeping this community safe. Each and every one of these fine men and women work without fanfare to provide an excellent service to the public.

I live and work in the City of Chilliwack. Do I feel safe? Yes.

Keith Robinson, Inspector

Acting Officer in Charge and Operations Officer

Upper Fraser Valley

Regional Detachment