With Teeth? (The Good, the Bad and the Ugly)

The Downtown Biz along with the City of Winnipeg et al announced the Community Outreach Patrol Program yesterday. This is a step in the right direction in addressing the reasons people are loathe to head downtown. I was initially unreservedly enthusiastic about the program until I heard Vic Grant’s Excuse Me CJOB op-ed mention the price tag yesterday.

In order to hire eight Outreach Patrols, the program is expected to require $478,000.00 per annum in funding, or $59,750 PER PATROL. How much of this is going to the front line employees and how much will be going to “ethnic training” and other such politically correct initiatives to ready them for their expanded role?

As could be expected, the usual talking heads also gave their all too predictable lines. Loren Schinkel of the Winnipeg Police Association laments the fact that the gap won’t be filled with additional union-dues-paying officers. Poverty advocates raise the spectre of “heavy-handed tactics.” Anyone who has seen the Downtown Watch patrols in action knows they are the farthest thing from Brazilian death squads. I would just once like to see opinion leaders address an issue without shamelessly promoting their own personal agendas. Barring that, toning down their rhetoric would be a constructive first step.

The Good – Assertive measures taken to deal with downtown problems.

The Bad – Minor issues regarding politically correct implementation of said measures.

The Ugly – Special groups given more time than they deserve to advance their own interests.

So now we know what we get when we combine a spaghetti western with NIN…