Prioritize Our Policing

Policing is no doubt an extremely tough job.  All day every day officers deal with citizens who are often at their worst.  It's not an easy gig and we need to support our law enforcement community.

With that said, the City of Prince George pays nearly 40% of it's entire tax pool (that's over $54 Million dollars a year) to the RCMP only to consistently remain on the list of "most dangerous cities in the nation".  This is far from an acceptable outcome.  

I am in no way blaming those officers with boots on the ground policing our communities, but we need to work with the senior officials who are directing those officer's activities to set some clear priorities.

Go spend some time in our crime plagued downtown and you will not see officers walking the beat, preventing crime or building rapport with downtown business owners and the homeless population alike. Look out your windows at night and you will not see officers proactively patrolling residential communities to prevent crime.  But make no mistake, driving home to the College Heights or up the Hart Highway after work, you will almost certainly see them atop Peden Hill or along Hwy 97 writing seatbelt tickets and other minor traffic violations.

We need to get back to the basics of policing - to protect people and property.  People from violent crime and property from theft and vandalism.  If that means giving up a seatbelt ticket to prevent a violent stabbing downtown, a home invasion in the VLA, or a vehicle theft in the College Heights - it is a worthy trade off.  We pay huge dollars for protective services and it is therefore our right to prioritize how our communities get policed.  Once we get a handle on the very basics of protecting people and property, we can once again resume writing seatbelt tickets.  Until then, we need to prioritize our policing and make our city safe again - and that's exactly what I will do!

Vote for BIG Change, Vote for Safe Communities, Vote Adam Hyatt for Mayor!