Poli

THE heat is rising dra-
matically on
Vancouver's belea-
guered police chief,
Bruce Chambers.

His cimultueus vear anda
halfin the “corner office” has
been plapucd with one con:
troversy after another, Now at
appear the police board is
consicering whether to exer:
cise its option on the final
year of Chambers’ initial con-
tract.

To fight the image prob-
tems, Chambers hired a
media flack, a spin doctor if
you will, ata cost of almose
$90,000 annually to the
financially strapped depart
ment.

No police cars to go to
werk with. Too bad! But hey,
the chief"s gota shiny new
spin doctor to buff up his
image.

Now what kind of a mes-
sage is this sending to the
officers who police the streets
of our city and the public
who pay the freight for pro-
tection?

Frankly, [ don’t get it.
The police department of any
city needs to foster good rela
tions with the media. This is
how the public who are rep-
resented by the police are
able to monitor what the
police do and how they do it.

In Vancouver, the potice
nave been ably r presented
by Const. Anne Drennan as
the official spokesman.

She is not there to spina
situation i a certain direc
tion, but to inform and act as
the public voice of the Chief’
Constable, She has always
done a good job, Recently,
however, she has been
dragged into the spin being
created to cake the heat off
the chief. This certainly does-
n’t do anything positive for
the credibility she has earned
over the years.

The spin doctor Chambers

mice x

crime and
punishment

hired ts Ken Hardie, tormerh
of TCBC and the man who
steered the NDP propaganda
concerning the photo radar
road tasation plan,

He's already busy doctor:
ing things ina police depart:
ment spinning our of control,

Hardie released the results
of a so-called Smorate” sur-
vey last week. The survey
questions gave numerical
options — one being
“strongly disagree” and tive
being “strongly agree.” Yeo in
the graphs released, the
charted response starts at
zero, not onc. The overall
effect tends to show the bar
graph 3+ longer, ergo more
positive, tha ‘1 reality,

Cute tick.

In the “newsletter” given
to Member sccompanying
the survey's negative results,
the spin given is“... the reor-
ganization last June has not
been without a few rough
spots.”

A few rough spots? Such
as an insuttictent number of
patrol cars such that cops
have to wait sometimes as
long as nwo or three hours
before they can go out to do
their jobs. Detectives trying
to investigate have to hitch a
ride with a patrol officer
lucky enough to get a car. No
new uniforms because the
allocated money has been
used up in the reorganiza-
tion, Overtime costing at
least a thousand dollars a day
just to cover the holes creat-
ed by the reassignment of
staff ro fit in with the
“vision.”

A tew reurh spots?
Morale lower than pothon
droppings. The union taking
the extreme steps of meeting
direcdy with tne police
board, cutmng out the chiet.
Ghost squads positions
tilled on paperonty, Long
serving, respected senior offt-
cers forced sto retirement,
People getuny transterred
without any apparent wood
reason despite community
support fer them A police
departoyeat in disarray.

A teow rough spots iraleed.

Let me quote from ane
mail sent to Hardie trom a
semor member, a sergeant
with 20 vears on the job.

“The chief is tiving ina
plastic bubble or is deliber-
Mely aving to mislead the
members.”

The memo goes on, *
we are unhappy about what it
is doing to the department
by way of chronic shortages
in staffand the fet that some
of the fine details were never
worked out in advance of
some of the major changes. ft
appears to me that he
(Chambers) thinks he has all
the answers and the rest of us
are just plain seupid.

“Unfortunately we are all
looking foolish in the eves of
the community, However,
nothing will improve until
there is honesty in this orga
nization an open-minded:
Ness to Croly listen to other
people's opinions..."

Another long serving off-
cer sent a two-pager to
Hardie. In it he offers, “The
chiefs forums were initially 3
good idea, but it became
apparent that member partici-
pation was not essentia:
Listening was.”

Grear line; | wish Pd
thought of it, But it’s truth is
very telling.

When Chambers was
brought te Vancouver from
his previous position as the
Chie? of Thunder Bay Police,

Leave West Van fields alone

Vancouver residents must sot alow aay erosion

Dear Editor:

They just don’t get it! West Vancouver coun-
cil recently witnessed the success of a
protest. against: Park Royal's
Now the collective
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sion of progress: “reassignment” of an integral
and heavily-used part of Ambleside Park from
sports te an arts centre building. This would be
a blow to all kids, voung and old.

Regardless of the merit ofan arts centre, West

roots”
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Building Relationships for Life

ice chief in the hoi seat

he was given a hwo -vear con
tract with an option on the
third vear. This in itself was
anusital VEN, prods con:
tracts for the position were in
five vear increments,

Vhe pohee board has ver
to declare publich whether it
will exercise the option on
the chird vear, Sources within
city hall sav there isa move
door te call it quits this sum
mer when the wo year deal
ends.

hast week on ¢ KNW,
Mavor Philip Owen gave the
chicta vote of confidence,
Didn't Brian Burke do the
same for Mike Keenan?

sy

Kudos te North Van
RCMP Drug Section for a

essfil end to an under-
cover project.

They barged up five bad
guys, several guns and a
whack of dope, including
crack cocaine and 3,500 hits
of rohypnol, the “date rape”
pill.

But not only thar, the mil-
tion bucks in cash from the
small unassuming house on
Whitchurch is certainly going
to get the attention of whose
money it really is.

You see, a small street:
level dope dealer is not going
to have a million in readies.
Not in this life or the next.
That money belongs to ele-
ments in organized crime.
Bet the mortgage on it.
Whether it’s the bikers or the
mafia, who knows at this
point. But it is organized
crime and that’s why the
Proceeds of Crime seetion
have been brought inte the
investigation.

The Mounties did a great
job tor their part, Now Iet’s
sce how the courts do with
theirs. Pm going to bet they
turn a silk purse into a saw's

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