Pubdate: Wed, 15 Mar 2006
Source: Red Deer Express (CN AB)
Copyright: 2006 Red Deer Express
Contact:  http://www.reddeerexpress.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2920

WHY THE DELAY?

Last week, a resident in the Kentwood neighbourhood pointed out to the
Express a crack house on a street.

This resident also said street gangs of young teens were known to be
marauding the streets.

A few days earlier, two culprits broke into a home and assaulted five
people, two of them seriously.

People are scared in Kentwood and citizens want to know more from the
police, said the resident.

But for now, Red Deer city RCMP will not release further information,
not even the precise location of the house, even though their crime
scene probe was completed.

Mounties also will not say what the motive of the home invasion was,
nor will they even say how the victims were attacked.

Citizens are only told by the RCMP that the integrity of the
investigation must be maintained.

We have to wonder about the city RCMP's public relations strategy on
this.

The detachment has just hired a new public relations officer, Cpl.
Sandy Andrews -- who is highly trained and qualified, and yet for
reasons unknown she is not being allowed to serve the public's needs
on a very important issue.

Are Red Deer's neighbourhoods safe?

Are gangs running wild?

What is the city's detachment's plan to combat this?

For the past several years, the city RCMP has had serious problems in
releasing important information in a timely fashion to the public on
major crime stories.

Of course, there is information the Mounties must hold back to
safeguard an ongoing investigation but when they concede that a police
probe at a crime scene is finished, we must really wonder about other
motives for this strategy.

This sort of policing non-disclosure for the public would never occur
in Edmonton and Calgary.

In fact, Edmonton Police Service Chief Mike Boyd held a press
conference last week to announce his force failed in its duties to
serve the public when police officers took 30 minutes to respond to a
vicious transit bus attack that ultimately led to the killing of a
local man.

Boyd's bold initiative shows a sensitivity to the needs of a
community.

Red Deer city Mounties would do well to learn from that.
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MAP posted-by: Derek