Pubdate: Fri, 10 Aug 2007
Source: Calgary Sun, The (CN AB)
Copyright: 2007 The Calgary Sun
Contact:  http://www.calgarysun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/67
Author: Rick Bell
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?216 (CN Police)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine)

AND THE GOOD NEWS IS ...

When You Turn The Dedicated Men And Women Of The Thin, Blue Line 
Loose, You Get Streets Empty Of Thugs

You want good news.

It is good to see the cops out in full force on the downtown river 
pathway, the foot soldiers of Operation Riverwalk, a thin blue line 
standing up for us and against those who figure they can do what they 
damn well please.

Yes, it is mighty good to see the drug-dealing dirtbags crawl back 
into their holes, nowhere to be seen, not smoking their crack in our 
faces, not selling their stuff shamelessly in open view, not looking 
to prey on an easy mark, not strutting around like they own the place 
when they contribute sweet tweet to this city except grief.

And it is really good to hear citizens thank the badges and give a 
thumbs-up and a smile, feeling just that little bit safer as they go 
about their lives not wanting to be hassled. The folks closest to the 
idiots, who have no way to be sheltered from a rude reality, know the 
score all too well.

Chico Ziegler is with his shopping cart and his bottles, standing on 
the sidelines yesterday afternoon.

"Get rid of the crackheads. Take them all down. Either that or let 
them kill each other, then come back and pick up the aftermath," says 
Chico, offering some advice to all the police on patrol -- the vans, 
the cars, the bikes, the shoes on pavement.

"I'm alive but I could sleep here and be stabbed or shot. The 
crackheads can slit your throat. You never know."

What we do know is this city's police officers hit this hot spot big 
time. It is a sign of things to come here and at other hot spots 
where criminals congregate in the downtown and Beltline.

Insp. Bob Ritchie, the number one in District 1, speaks of zero 
tolerance to the lawbreakers.

"We are going to make arrests. We are going to get in their space and 
make life uncomfortable," says the inspector, who grew up in this 
city, had a grandfather in the city police and has seen the face of 
Calgary sadly change.

And arrests are made. By supper hour, it is 11 arrests. There are 27 
outstanding warrants executed.

Naturally, drugs play a part. But there are all those breaching the 
conditions of their release. They are not behind bars because they 
are supposed to behave and follow some simple rules. They don't. 
What's a piece of paper? The creeps catch a break and go back to 
doing the same shtick, laughing all the way to the next offence. 
Maybe the judges should patrol the streets.

But they don't. The cops do. And every one of them just wants to be a 
police officer, a noble calling. Arrest the bad guys. Help the 
victims. Make this city safer while being backed by their superiors 
as they do their duty.

Even when the courts administer pathetic slaps on the wrist, the 
police go out, arrest again and put the criminals before the courts again.

And, since much of the crime is committed by parasites living off 
folks on the street, the criminals sometimes get away with it, the 
victims not wishing to face the consequences of being seen as a rat. 
If only more people would come forward.

And those going to work in the towers and in the storefronts see 
things they do not like, things making them feel nervous, no matter 
what public relations spin they hear.

Acting Sgt. Scott Todd does not dismiss the attitude of unease. "If 
people say they don't feel safe, it's a legitimate belief. It doesn't 
matter what the statistics say, you can't tell them what to feel," says Todd.

People do have fears. They imagine nastiness happening to them. Is it 
perception? Is it real? Save such stuff for the shrinks.

Todd says he wants citizens to report suspicious activity. How else 
can crime be fought?

Sgt. Dave Louie is a character I figure should get a guest shot on 
Law and Order. "These drug dealers who pump out their chests, act 
like a big man on campus, we want to get these guys off the streets," 
says the sergeant.

Staff Sgt. Barry Balerud came over from dealing with organized crime.

"I asked to come here. This job is not disheartening to me. I really 
want to help these people. This is why we became police officers. 
This. Right here."

Yesterday is good news. All that's missing is the broom. But what of 
today, tomorrow and tomorrow's tomorrow?

"In a perfect world we'd have the same deployment every day. We are 
going to continue. We'll be out there hitting different hot spots at 
different times to sustain the impact," vows Insp. Ritchie.

Of course, we all know this is not a perfect world. But, in this 
imperfect one, in a summer where crimes grab all kinds of headlines, 
it is good to see that thin blue line.

Very good.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom