Hudman

On the contrary ,I would say East Hastings is a deliberate policy of controlled containment of these poor souls.
I was down there yesterday, never had a problem with these guys. Most of them are more a threat to themselves.
On the other hand Kings X London is/was a violent dangerous place with a similar profile of human dysfunction, (along with most city/town centres in UK)
I would agree with your police comment, from my experiences the average cop here has far better social skill than their British colleagues and are better able to deal with situations rather than get aggresive and escalate the situation.

Stuarty

Nuff said, thats why me missus is leaving the NHS and doing the physio thing in Alberta

Gezza

East Hasting street was just a very distressing spectacle I had to drive through twice a day.Really a social catastrophy. Why the BC government maintains the status quo there is beyond me.

Stuarty

Had a good hard think about it especially with PR taking so long and Edmonton desperate (they would have to be ) for Cops but at the end of the day 20yrs was probably enough and a change would be good.
Stuarty

Garfielduk

Your obviously an understanding kind of person Iain So if you have a little dementia later in life and forget something you won't mind being treated the same as you were when you were 30 then

iaink

Hey, I dont know the details. Maybe he was a serial offender and this was the third time that week he was pulled over? Im not going to second guess the cop, their job is hard enough already. Maybe he mouthed of a la Mel Gibson, who knows?

If he has dimentia, maybe he shouldnt be driving at all? Or maybe he can use that to get off the ticket in court.

Garfielduk

Look, it was just an example really and maybe I should have compared it to something else; for example a year or so ago they made it illegal to be on the mobile phone while driving, this is a far easier offence to spot than a seatbelt not on and yet they either ignore these offences or just warn drivers, that in my opinion is crazy because I think the phone is a much worse offence as it causes danger to others as well as yourself. Consistency and common sense wouldn't go amiss now and then.
Also, I was assaulted around 6 months ago outside the local post office and ended up with a bloody face and in the A&E Hospital Unit for 3 hours but did the Police find the culprits or even try to, I don't think so

mjanovitz

You can make these kind of generalisations based on your limited experience about any occupation....teachers, mechanics, plumbers, politicians, retail workers, call centre staff, customs officials, electicians, traffic wardens, social workers, solicitors, judges, refuse collectors, etc etc.

There are people that care about what they do and some that don't.....there are people that are good at their job and there are some that aren't. This is true of any occupation in any Country.

rae

unfortunately this is the sad indictment of our times, sorry to hear your story but this is one of many. some people say they are not interested in our explanations regarding poor staffing, increased call outs and a graded repines system which means we tend to only get to critical incidents whilst other quite worthy if not so urgent situations get left. what I'd say is remember who you voted for, they are ultimately responsible and you have a part to play in the democratic process.
to put this into context, GMP has had a 25 million, yes million, pound budget cut, there is talk of police redundancies and already units such as traffic, mounted and the dog sections are being downsized. we are currently experiencing something like a 200% increase in incidents reported since the last study 10yrs ago(HMIC), yet the staffing levels are similar. more bobbies on the street, tough on crime, don't believe a word.

Garfielduk

These are not generalisations, they are fact based upon experience in our area.

And yes, there are people who care about what they do in their jobs and those that don't but ultimately an organisation wherever and whatever it is is only as good as the leaders that are at the top, because it is their influence that governs what the organisation achieves; and that goes for any public company, education in schools, care in the health service and the police force.

windward

That's amazing... I was under the impression that country-wide, Blair's monsoon of public cash meant that every police force in the country was enjoying writing blank cheques to their recruiters.

Testament to the sly b*stards' ability to manipulate the facts I'm sure. Can't really blame the government when they're 'increasing' the numbers of police yet crime keeps rising...

Goddamn it I hate my government....

mjanovitz

Well obviously there is fact in there because you said it happened to you

So you are basically stating your own or friends experiences and not suggesting that this is typical of every officer, station or force. Then I have no argument with that.

kt0157

Wish they'd do that more here in Canada. The number of times I've nearly been side-swiped by dippy drivers on cellphones at the wheel of huge trucks because half the tiny brain is used to gossip while the remaining half of tiny brain isn't up to the complex 3D modeling skills required to drive a heavy vehicle.

K.

rae

Not wishing to disillusion you further but, ACPO, Home office recently released statements that they envisaged a fall in police numbers, from around 140,000 England and wales to around 123,000. some of these places will have PCSO's to substitute. all of this has been widely reported in local press like MEN, and trade mags like Police Review, but seems to escape national attention?
British crime survey, which the government must wish they said they didn't prefer as the most accurate, as its not longer recording drops but increases, violent crime particularly, one of many reasons i'm off, fed up of policing several thousand drunken idiots on Friday and Saturday with me and 4 PC's at best.

Stuarty

Well said Rae, community Wardens replacing cops here(politicians claim that they are in addition to the cops), cheaper but with no powers other than Common Law like ordinary citizens. MADNESS!