It’s time to quit bashing the Lethbridge police
By Letter to the Editor on April 29, 2021.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of the below letter to the editor published in the April 29 edition of The Lethbridge Herald incorrectly stated Mayor Chris Spearman “voted to defund the police force by $1,000,000.” In truth, Spearman opposed the reduction to the police force budget in two separate motions.
Editor: Myself and most Lethbridge citizens are fed up with this new fad of trashing the police that has crept into our city.
We have an excellent police force of 172 men and women officers who choose this profession with the intent of a meaningful role in enforcing the laws-to protect citizens from danger and criminal actions.
They do this well. We are in danger of a weakened justice system. Note the increased shop lifting indicated by more and more items being locked up in our large retail outlets. Drug trafficking is rampant.
One gateway to hard drugs is marijuana. Look what some lawmakers have done making this intoxicating, addictive and brain damaging drug so available to all. Obviously youth have more access to it now and many will follow the path to harder drugs, addiction, death and wrecked lives.
I appreciate the speeding tickets via photo radar or the radar patrol car. It prompts me and others to drive a safe speed, avoids injury to our and other’s grandchildren.
The purpose of photo radar is not to raise money for the province; it is to protect lives that can be lost by excessive speeders.
Individual police officers have made mistakes and are held accountable for them.
Integrity is a word that fits for all police officers as a whole. Accusations of racial bias by officers are made with no evidence of truth.
Yet some city council members voted to “de-fund the police force” by $1,000,000. They followed the fad rampant in other parts of North America.
Yet they just voted to allocate almost a million dollars to street art.
Let’s speak up to support our good police force-over the loud voices of those who wish to drag all into the fad.
Ken Oler
Lethbridge
-3
Yes, our police certainly need more support and more ways to deal with the relentless assault on our society by the sordid sector that has wormed its way into our community. We need more letters like yours to counter act the likes of those who bash our police – Paul Butler being the latest whose Letter to Editor was into today’s paper next to yours yet is no where to be found at the moment.
The author said: Accusations of racial bias by officers are made with no evidence of truth.
So true.
Anyway, they have a word for that now. When the bleeding hearts want to find racism and hate in something that it is totally void of racism and hate, they just simply call it “implied racism”. That isn’t a joke. It’s a real term that they use.
Prairebreze:
Here’s the link to Paul Butler’s letter:
https://lethbridgeherald.com/news/lethbridge-news/2021/04/29/petition-calls-for-end-to-lps-wanted-wednesday-social-media-posts/
It is unfortunate that LPS missteps over the years have been rather glaring. As the saying goes, “the bad apples spoil it for everyone.” Solution? Dealing with the bad apples more effectively and proactively? Which is, hopefully, the new mandate, preferably doing whatever it takes to prevent ‘bad apple’ behavior in the first place.
Agreed.
Also, the education system is rife with bad teachers. They are typically middle to late age and no longer have any desire to teach. They are past their teaching prime, usually have a permanent scowl (with the jowls), and pass along their miserable attitude to the kids. Yep. Bad apples in every bunch. Soooo defund teachers?
EDIT- The part about defunding teachers was sarcasm. See the below posts.
No, but, the cutbacks to education, health care, municipalities (which could impact funding to police forces), etc. by the Kenney UCP that might be more, the issue here. And not to forget re: the police, the Kenney UCP want ‘their’ own provincial police force which would have to be instigated at great expense courtesy of us taxpayers.
sorry to call you on this, seth, but how does one bring teachers into this? moreover, your statement is a fallacy and without merit. a statement with no evidence of truth. every profession has some employees of lesser quality; it is inevitable, and a fact dictated not least by the law of averages.
Looks like you and Southern missed my subtle sarcasm and tongue in cheek. Didn’t you two see the part that said, “Bad apples in every bunch. Soooo defund teachers?” In other words (and not in a drawn out sooooo sarcastic tone with a question mark) you don’t defund an agency just because of a few bad apples.
Also Biff, you seemed to have just contradicted yourself. First you question the fact that the education system has some bad teachers, then state every profession has lesser quality employees.
Furthermore, no evidence of truth? I could list a bunch of those teachers by name (not that I’m going to). Are you suggesting that such a teacher I described does not exist?
i question referencing teachers in this discussion, and, your use of “rife”. meanwhile, when there is an action by police that warrants investigation, it almost always – well above average – finds in favour of enforcement. moreover, the investigations are either conducted by another force – the blue wall – or some other mirage, like asirt.
the law of averages simply means there will always be above and below the line of average. so.ab makes a most appropriate point with regard to our policing our police: “Solution? Dealing with the bad apples more effectively and proactively?”
“Rife” might have have been too strong of a term, however that doesn’t negate my point. Again, my point is, “You don’t defund a whole agency because of a few bad apples”. Granted there may be good reasons to defund an agency, but a few bad apples isn’t one of them.
agreed – defunding based on some losers is nonsense, as would be defunding police entirely; however, reducing budgets is not unreasonable. it might mean fewer cool pick up trucks, suvs, spiff paddy wagons that rival some of the best hutterite mass transit arsenal and such, but they could eke by.
hard to see merit as well with highly paid police being used in schools as resource officers. loose use of overtime is another high cost issue that can be reigned in.
moreover, we cannot expect police to be everything – therefore, we need to involve other agencies to deal with some complex issues that arise. for example, when mental health requires intervention, police are not the best choice, outside of ensuring an initial safety of the situation. we need to build in parallel supports from agencies that are well versed in sundry social concerns, just as we do not use police entirely as an alternative to ems/firefighting.
enjoy the great day out there…time to finish cleaning up the lawn 🙂
Enjoy the great day? What the hell are you talking about?
—looks out window—
OMG…there’s a whole beautiful world out there! 🙂
haha! 🙂
haha! lol! rip van winkle has awoke, and with all the misinformation around drugs that the propaganda machine had been brainwashing society with for decades. marijuana is the gateway drug!! are you kidding?! i know very many life long users of cannabis, and only 2 that became caught up in more expensive drug addictions issues…over 40 years. neither case had anything to do with pot making them need a harder experience. each was curious and, as addictions go, they found their demon. if they needed only a harder experience, then alcohol would have more than sufficed. there is not one robust study that shows pot to be a gateway drug. there is more evidence to conclude that momma’s milk, water, and pop tarts are gateways. it is like saying masturbation is the gateway to sexual assault…and, not masturbating is the gateway to sexual assault.
besides the regurgitation of drug nonsense, what we have here is a woefully authoritarian personality that is a big scaredy-cat fearful, fearmongering soul that would rather have a police state…anything so as to best try and ensure outcomes for all in his image. raise your right hand just above your shoulder and shout: seig heil!
as for our police, the culture speaks for itself through its actions. based on the info that becomes privy to the public, they do not seem to be among the worst collection, but there is work to do for them to serve better.
Speaking of defunding organization we the people start to keep us safe; let us start at the top and defund our politicians or maybe just pay them minimum wage so the understand how the majority of the people that elected them have to live.
Or in the words of the late comedian Robin Williams, politicians should wear NASCAR uniforms so we know who owns them. Not all.