I was somewhat surprised when I read (SP Jan. 25/11) that the Police Chief has salted away money to purchase an armoured rescue vehicle (ARV) for $350,000.00 given the other needs of police service.
I am all for providing city police with the necessary tools to protect themselves from harm while they protect and serve the community. However, how many instances have arisen in this city where such a vehicle would be needed? Or is this just one of those instances that because other cities have one we want one too?
According to the article this type of vehicle is used in Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia and by the US Marines for perimeter protection at nuclear submarine bases. Ten other cities in all of Canada have them. I might see the need in the mega cities like Montreal, Vancouver, Toronto or even Ottawa. But Saskatoon? I know city cops that have put in decades of service without having ever used their service issue glocks.
Perhaps I am missing the real message, which is the intensified drug trade in Saskatoon which the Chief referred to in the article. Maybe Saskatoon's rapid growth is not all that it is cracked up to be - no pun intended.
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I was very amused at that story today. It would seem our Chief has taken a page from Atch's playbook of spending tax payer money on luxuries. It'd have been nice to know they were salting over a quarter of a million dollars away when doing the police budget.
ReplyDeleteI can't even believe they think they need this. Our police is turning into something out of a video game: hummers, helicopters, patrol planes......yet no one on the streets preventing the assaults, stabbings, robberies and crime going on.
I laughed when I read the quote on 10 other major Canadian cities have them, I'm assuming he's heard that same rhetoric with recycling and seen how good it is at converting citizens only concerned with our national appearance.
wtf - is chief weighill on crack? If council approves this they all need to go!
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