Pubdate: Wed, 12 Apr 2006
Source: Vancouver Courier (CN BC)
Copyright: 2006 Vancouver Courier
Contact:  http://www.vancourier.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/474
Author: Kevin Potvin

CITY IGNORING OTHER FORMS OF CRIME PREVENTION

Crime rates in Vancouver may be way down from 10 years ago and may be 
continuing to decline, but that hasn't stopped the Vancouver police 
budget cutting deep yet again into the city's budget for 50 extra 
officers last year and now 31 more this year, plus 46 additional 
administration positions.

That's 127 new positions in two years. And it isn't the NPA's fault. 
Last term's COPE council hired 50 extra officers, while this year's 
budget battle saw Vision Vancouver councillors-the COPE-lite faction 
of last term-fighting for 50 more over the majority NPA's dissent. An 
NPA councillor, Kim Capri, broke ranks with her more restrained NPA 
colleagues to broker a deal giving the police most (but not all) of 
what they wanted.

But there was no one on council debating the merits of reducing the 
number of police-or even just keeping their burgeoning numbers in 
check-despite the long-term trend in falling crime rates.

To make room for the extra police in the budget, council cut the 
youth advocate position and reduced by 30 per cent the city's already 
appallingly low arts budget. It's those kind of cuts that will 
restore upward trends in crime rates, since arts funding strengthens 
the social fabric of the city, and youth advocacy helps people 
lacking economic means or political power. These programs are two 
forms of effective crime prevention.

Watching city council come out of this critical budget debate-the 
first of the new council dominated by the new NPA-I was reminded of 
the most recent U.S. election, where one party campaigned on winning 
the war in Iraq (with current troop strength), while the opposition 
campaigned on winning the war in Iraq (with increased troop 
strength). No one on council-party hacks all-used a minute of the 
unprecedented 17-hour debate to speak up about increasing arts 
funding, building on the success of the youth advocacy office, 
building more programs to weave the social fabric, and cutting the 
police budget to do it.

So if crime is down but the number of police keeps going up, what are 
they doing with all the extra enforcement power? It is instructive to 
look at Statistics Canada numbers from across the country between 
1994 and 2004-the latest numbers available.

In that decade, the rate of attempted murder came down 29 per cent, 
sexual assault came down 33 per cent, abduction came down 49 per 
cent, break and enter came down by 36 per cent, and theft over $5,000 
came down by 41 per cent.

But increased police activity raised the rate of cannabis possession 
cases by a whopping 53 per cent, cultivation of pot by 120 per cent, 
and disturbing the peace by 107 per cent. The rate of prostitution 
cases was up six per cent, and while the rate of heroin-related 
charges was down 53 per cent, the rate of charges related to other 
drugs was up 86 per cent. The biggest increase was in the rate of 
counterfeiting, up 334 per cent.

The total number of crimes in those activities not regarded as 
particularly serious, and those over which the police exercise the 
greatest discretion in choosing to enforce-that is, drug-related 
crimes, prostitution, disturbing the peace, bail-related crimes and 
counterfeiting-went up from 200,000 in 1994 to nearly 500,000 in 
2004. The number of crimes in those activities we take very 
seriously, and those the police have little choice but to enforce and 
fully investigate-such as murder and attempted murder, sexual assault 
and other sexual offences, abduction, theft, and robbery-went down 
from 34,000 in 1994 to just under 31,000 in 2004, despite the 
increased population.

That is to say, in 1994, the ratio of non-serious crime to serious 
crime, as enforced by police, was about six to one. By 2004, with 
falling rates of serious crime but rising numbers of police, that 
ratio ballooned to 16 to 1.

The extra 81 police officers and 46 administration staff both COPE 
and NPA-dominated councils voted for the last two years is likely to 
result only in more police enforcement in areas like prostitution, 
counterfeiting and cannabis possession, to make up for the 
inescapable fact that there is less for them to do in the serious 
criminal areas like murder, sexual assault and abductions. Is this 
necessary? Do Vancouverites want this vastly increased enforcement of 
non-serious crimes, and should it necessitate a four per cent 
property tax increase, massive cuts to arts funding, and other 
draconian measures? I don't think so.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman