Pubdate: Mon, 06 Sep 2004 Source: Province, The (CN BC) Copyright: 2004 The Province Contact: http://www.canada.com/vancouver/theprovince/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/476 Author: Kent Spencer CRIME GROWS IN QUIET COMMUNITIES Coquitlam Folks Question Their Low Policing Levels While Area Grow-Ops Continue To Flourish Coquitlam, where large numbers of marijuana grow operations keep RCMP busy, has the lowest number of police per capita among big B.C. cities. A 2002 Statistics Canada survey of cities over 100,000 showed Coquitlam, with 94 officers per 100,000, last among eight municipalities. Vancouver leads with 197 officers per 100,000. About 300 Coquitlam residents met earlier this year to see what could be done about the number of grow-ops on the Westwood Plateau. "The politicians tell us that they are tough on crime, but the officers we have are overworked," says Coquitlam resident Doug Stead. "I'm not kicking the police force doing the work. The politicians don't want to put money out to put more boots on the streets." Stead says he is willing to pay higher property taxes to fund a bigger force. Coquitlam Mayor Jon Kingsbury says the city tries to spend resources on preventive measures such as hiring bylaw officers instead of costly police officers and having a "restorative justice" approach that takes kids out of the criminal system. "Our ratio is down because I believe not enough time is spent on creating solutions in this country," he said. "Police officers chase the same things over and over again." B.C.'s top forces in terms of numbers of police per 100,000 residents were: Vancouver (197), Delta (140), Saanich (133), and Abbotsford (126). The four cities with the lowest ratios were all served by the RCMP: Richmond, with 121 officers per 100,000, Burnaby (119), Surrey (112) and Coquitlam (94). Simon Fraser University criminology professor Neil Boyd said municipalities have "historically" resisted hiring additional police. "Municipalities have not wanted to increase property taxes to pay for them," he says. Boyd says police are needed in Vancouver to deal with a "cultural problem" of drug use, poverty and social disadvantages. "One study found homicides were concentrated in a 12-block radius in the Downtown Eastside," he says. "Vancouver's challenges are significant." Boyd says Vancouver has one officer per 508 residents, almost twice as many as Bowen Island, with one officer per 1,000 residents. "On Bowen, there is a lack of serious crime due to the nature of the community," he says. The police credo in Delta -- "no call is too small" -- is made possible because Delta puts big resources into policing, says acting mayor Guy Gentner. "We stick by our motto," says Gentner. "Information may seem irrelevant, but it could become very important. Delta has a hands-on approach." Gentner says it was "interesting" to note that the leaders in police-to-resident ratio were all independent, municipally owned squads. Delta police say they could use even more manpower. "I don't see our numbers as good. We would like to have more police to keep a lid on things," said Delta police spokeswoman Sharlene Brooks. Surrey says it plans to hire 95 officers over two years. But an RCMP internal report has noted that the sudden influx of personnel has brought its own challenges by putting too many rookies on the streets. The internal report noted that rookies are "rushed into busy positions with full caseloads well before they have an opportunity to learn their role." POLICE STAFFING 2002 police resources and population in B.C. cities with more than 100,000 people. Population - People per square kilometre - Police Officers per - Officers 100,000 population Vancouver 580,094 5,087 1,143 197 Delta 102,089 604 143 140 Saanich 107,362 1,042 143 133 Abbotsford 117,001 339 148 126 Richmond* 168,254 1,355 204 121 Burnaby* 195,383 2,209 233 119 Surrey* 349,044 1,157 392 112 Coquitlam* 114,524 928 108 94 *Policed by RCMP Source: Statistics Canada - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin