To the Editor:
I read with interest Mayor Tim Johnston's comments in the Aug. 10 Thompson Citizen headlined, "Province hindering Thompson's crime fight." The article detailed the City of Thompson's ongoing struggle with crime and a lack of response by the province. I think we have all reached the point where it is pathetically apparent that the City of Thompson cannot expect any "gratuitous" help from the Department of Justice or the MLCC.
Mayor Johnston's comments were well taken, but let's face it we cannot ever expect to move on as a city until we tackle the "Number 1" position in the "Crime Severity Index" (CSI). There hasn't been a lot written on the CSI but the bottom line is that it is "crimes against persons" that are actually weighted the greatest within the StatsCan CSI formula: this equates to assaults, sexual assaults, robbery, murder etc. In fact, this is not the first time that Thompson has been in the number one position. What I find interesting is that crimes against persons are, for the most part, crimes that are fundamentally rooted in alcohol. In 26 years of policing, I can only count on one hand assaults that I attended where alcohol was not a contributing factor. You cannot look at the downtown and the residual spin-off effect without asking yourself, "Is there a better way to stem the tide?"
My preference would have been for the MLCC to step up to the plate and acknowledge the obvious. It would have been a very mature response for the MLCC managers to simply state, "Yes, we sell alcohol and our product represents a distinct public safety burden to the City of Thompson." After many preliminary discussions, this unfortunately did not happen. I guess in the big picture, it is often asking a lot for a Crown corporation to admit liability for the obvious. The Thompson Liquor Mart has historically been ranked in the top 10 stores in Manitoba.
The City has tried to solicit funding for public safety but there seems to be little will (much like Lotteries) to step up and give the City its dues. The MLCC generates revenues, which fund hospitals (largely in the south) but for some unknown reason the MLCC will not fund a Thompson detox. I find it ironic, that day after day, a provincial agency can profit from the sale of liquor while the City of Thompson and every taxpayer must pay for the extra policing costs required to lodge intoxicated individuals. To be quite honest, given the current crime levels in Winnipeg, we cannot expect any gratuitous policing resources for the North. My suggestion would be that the time has come for the city to simply draw a circle around the MLCC, Public Square and extend it's radius as tactically required to create a "Drug and Alcohol Free Zone." You have to throw "drugs" in the formula because that will necessarily solicit the attention of the Department of Justice. Obviously, the MLCC could not distribute and sell alcohol in an area of Thompson that was deemed "dry."
If the MLCC was forced to move from the downtown then the agency might consider a more "responsible" approach to funding downtown public safety in Thompson. It would certainly cost more to move the Liquor Mart than contribute towards public safety. Even if the MLCC would simply donate the profits from "Wessy" (Westminster Sherry) sales to the City, it would (educated with insight guess) fund five RCMP officers. In the meantime, the MLCC might just decide to move outside the city's boundary, and really would that be such a huge inconvenience?
One other quick point and thanks for reading this far! I agree with Mayor Johnston: there is huge room for Thompson Police Services. The trouble is it will be expensive to start up and we cannot expect any less of an attrition rate than Thompson Fire and Emergency Services. We will never totally replace the RCMP because they are too cost-effective, well equipped for serious crime and most of all, they absorb all liability. Ask yourself what a "wrongful arrest" lawsuit would cost the city? Remember, even with Prairie Bylaw Enforcement (PBLE), city taxpayers took the liability risk squarely on the chin. I would suggest that we could easily utilize a small force of six to 10 officers that we could tactically deploy for city- deemed issues of immediate priority. Of course, a municipal policing model cannot be considered until the Department of Justice sanctions the initiative. It would also have to be tied-in with a bona fide training plan that would likely be in concert with the RCMP. So once all is said and done we have two choices "do nothing" and wait once again for top ranking at the pinnacle of the CSI. If we do that we might as well make t-shirts, ball hats and mugs, while aggressively targeting U.S. markets: "Come to Thompson, Manitoba: Number 1 in the CSI." Our other choice is to dramatically rattle the chains of our provincial "gatekeepers." After all, there couldn't be a better time: isn't there a provincial election right around the corner?
Lou Morissette
Thompson
