Pubdate: Fri, 18 Nov 2005 Source: Lindsay This Week (CN ON) Copyright: 2005 Lindsay This Week Contact: http://www.lindsaythisweek.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2213 Author: Mary Riley POLICE CHIEF HAGARTY HOPING TO BUILD ON COMMUNITY TIES Kawartha Lakes Police Chief John Hagarty doesn't pull any punches when he talks about what he thinks are priorities as the Lindsay force's new chief. While he's only been on the job for about two weeks, Chief Hagarty's long career in policing and experience as chief of the Stratford Police Service has made the transition easier. Already, he says he has a feel for what needs to happen in Lindsay, and he does not shy away from what he believes are important issues. "It's still early, but I've been on a few ride-alongs with the officers," he said. "They've showed me some of the trouble spots; areas they are called to often that put a strain on resources. The population here, they tell me, is about 23,000 to 26,000, even though the sign says 17,000. There are a lot of similarities between here and Stratford, geographically and demographically." Chief Hagarty said two of his top priorities will be getting drugs "off the streets and out of the high schools" and making sure criminal gangs don't come to Lindsay. "We don't have gangs here, not like the Bloods and Crips (organized criminal gangs in other cities)," he said. "We have gang wannabes. But that comes from the bombardment our children have had in the media. Movies, video games - it's a culture of graphic violence. We have to expect that desensitization will have an affect on children. I'm not saying violent movies or games will make a kid violent. But I'm convinced that when parents lobbied to get warnings and age ratings put on, it was so you'd know what your child was dealing with. A lot of this stuff simply glorifies criminal behaviour. It feeds into the shock value of our entertainment, and we shouldn't be surprised at the resulting violence in our culture." He added he believes part of the reason children as young as 11 or 12 are committing serious crimes is because in the gaming world "there are no consequences." "When I played cops and robbers, or cowboys and Indians as a little kid, sometimes the guy would 'die' if I 'shot' him and sometimes he didn't," he said. "But, if I did something to [physically] hurt another kid, and that kid went home and told his parents, my parents would get a phone call. And John would have to face the consequences. Now, kids play these games [electronically] and get points for every person they kill or building they blow up. They don't have consequences. "It happened in the Columbine shootings. Those boys had a problem with the jocks at the school. So, they went in and shot the jocks who had tormented them. But they kept on shooting. They didn't stop shooting, even though they had achieved what they went to do, which was kill the jocks. Why didn't they stop?" While he concedes those more serious crimes, such as bank robberies and a shooting, have happened in Lindsay in the last year or so, he is quick to point out that all communities face the same issues when it comes to crime. "No community is immune because crime has no borders," he said. "But we're looking at what's called 'intelligence-led policing'; proactive policing. It shouldn't be all reactive. But there is no disputing the fact that a lot of crime, such as theft, is directly related to drugs. Getting the drugs off the streets will be a priority for sure." Chief Hagarty said it is also important to maintain a positive relationship between senior citizens and youth. "As we get older, we get more fearful of youth," he said. "That's something that doesn't change. I was going through the archives (in Stratford) one day, and I noticed a complaint to the police about young kids racing their horses down the main street. This was in 1870." "I think it's important to realize 95 per cent of young people are not into criminal behaviour. Just because they might dress differently, such as the 'goth' look, they might look a bit scary to older people, but it doesn't mean they're bad kids. It's only that five per cent." A strong supporter of community policing, Chief Hagarty said proactive policing and working together with citizens is the key to keeping communities safe. "If we know some of the problem areas the officers are always called to, we can identify the root cause. Instead of sending officers over and over to the same trouble, we can sit down with business owners and try and resolve the problems. I am not singling out a particular business, but let's say a bar is serving minors or still serving [liquor] after 2 a.m., it leads to problems." The chief said the Lindsay force has been around for 150 years and although he anticipates there might be changes, he insists on keeping it simple. "The officers here have done outstanding work in many different areas," he said. "I am looking forward to working with all of them. When we sit down with the Board for a review, we'll be looking at what we're doing that we shouldn't be, and what we aren't doing that we should be." - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin