Pubdate: Fri, 18 Nov 2005
Source: Vancouver Sun (CN BC)
Copyright: 2005 The Vancouver Sun
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/vancouver/vancouversun/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/477
Author: Chad Skelton

B.C. POLICE LOSING BATTLE AGAINST CRIME

Crime Rising Faster Than Number Of Officers, Study Shows

Police officers in B.C. have seen their workload more than double 
over the past 40 years as the hiring of new officers has failed to 
keep up with rising crime and mounting paperwork, according to a new 
study being released today.

The study, by researchers at the University College of the Fraser 
Valley and Simon Fraser University, suggests that shortage of 
officers is having a direct impact on the ability of police to do 
their job -- with criminals in B.C. far more likely to get away with 
their crimes now than they were in the past.

Since 1962, the "clearance rate" -- the percentage of cases solved by 
police -- has dropped from 90 per cent to 70 per cent for homicides 
and from 25 per cent to eight per cent for break-and-enters, 
according to the study.

That means someone who breaks into a house in B.C. has less than a 
one in 12 chance of being caught.

"More and more, police look at crime and say not, 'Let's go after 
them,' but, 'Do we have the resources to go after them?'" said Darryl 
Plecas, a criminology professor at UCFV and one of the study's 
authors. "They don't have the resources to do anything more than jump 
from call to call."

According to the study, which was paid for by the RCMP, the number of 
police officers in B.C. has kept pace with population growth over the 
past 40 years.

But during that same period, the number of reported crimes has 
increased seven-fold -- due in large part to a dramatic increase in 
property crime.

That means the average officer today has to handle more than twice as 
many crimes as his or her counterpart in the 1960s.

Asked whether the increase in crime is due to people reporting 
offences more often than they did in the past, Plecas disagreed -- 
saying survey data suggest people are less likely to report crime 
today than they did previously.

RCMP spokesman Sgt. John Ward said the study, which cost $150,000, 
was commissioned by the Mounties to get a better sense of how 
officers are spending their time -- and not to pressure governments 
to increase police budgets.

"Generally speaking, our staffing levels have kept up with our 
requirements," he said.

Ward said the force intends to review the study to find ways to save 
time within current staffing levels.

Plecas agreed that police need to find more strategic ways of 
tackling crime, but said there's also a need for more officers.

There are about 7,500 sworn police officers in B.C.

Bringing caseloads down to 1960s levels would require hiring another 
10,000 officers -- something that would cost the province and cities 
nearly $1 billion more a year.

Plecas acknowledged that kind of increase isn't practical.

But to have any impact at all, he said, municipal councils -- which 
control police budgets -- need to consider far more dramatic 
increases than they have so far.

"At the least, we should have a 25-per-cent increase in the number of 
officers," he said.

Solicitor-General John Les, who is responsible for provincial 
policing, declined through his spokeswoman to comment on the report 
until it is officially released today.

However, earlier this year the province announced it will spend $122 
million over the next three years to hire 215 more officers.

While the study was paid for by the RCMP, Plecas said its authors -- 
including senior criminologists at both UCFV and SFU -- had complete 
freedom to come to their own conclusions.

Plecas noted that, despite having a relatively high crime rate, 
Canada has fewer police officers per capita than most other rich 
countries -- 26-per-cent lower than England and 19-per-cent lower 
than Australia.

And B.C. has fewer police per capita than Ontario and Quebec, despite 
having a much higher crime rate.

"We have a situation where Canada is worse than other countries . . . 
and B.C. is worse than the rest of Canada," he said.

Plecas said the study found several examples of police not pursuing 
investigations because they knew they didn't have the resources to finish them.

"There's definitely cases where police make decisions to cease 
investigations, or not proceed in the first instance, because the 
resource requirements to respond are just more than they can handle," he said.

In Vancouver, for example, police usually won't respond in person to 
a theft from a vehicle unless the thief takes more than than $10,000 
worth of goods.

The study did not specifically address whether B.C.'s shortage of 
police may be partly responsible for its high crime rate.

But Plecas said it makes sense.

"Everything we know about criminality is if it goes unattended, 
people will continue the behaviour," he said.

"If you're not responding at all -- which is what's happening now -- 
people who are in the business of crime say, 'Why would I quit? 
Nobody's chasing me.' "
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MAP posted-by: Beth