[policyenthusiast]

It is sad how downtown has slipped in being a priority for city council in recent years. The current city council seems mostly just to react to problems downtown and not always that quickly or effectively.

I think the problem isn't whether or not Downtown is top-of-mind, but rather in the lack of effective policy proposals. The largest downtown revitalization proposition of recent years (that I know of) is the Downtown Investment Plan, a "plan" which is still just a lot of words to say "throw money at the problem."

City bylaws prohibit street vending, pedestrian activity is slipping, there are no effective means of preventing vagrancy, vandalism, worsening traffic congestion, increasing rents and decreasing real estate value, the City has too many prisons... the list goes on.

If you have a silver bullet, I'm sure everyone is eager to hear it.

 

[David A]

I think the problem isn't whether or not Downtown is top-of-mind, but rather in the lack of effective policy proposals. The largest downtown revitalization proposition of recent years (that I know of) is the Downtown Investment Plan, a "plan" which is still just a lot of words to say "throw money at the problem."

City bylaws prohibit street vending, pedestrian activity is slipping, there are no effective means of preventing vagrancy, vandalism, worsening traffic congestion, increasing rents and decreasing real estate value, the City has too many prisons... the list goes on.

If you have a silver bullet, I'm sure everyone is eager to hear it.

Effectiveness has been a big part of their problem. I think there has been a number of ideas brought up here and elsewhere about regular street patrols, adding several community police stations, enforcing laws on vagrancy, paying more attention to cleaning and maintenance ....

If you don't fix things now, the only solution will end up being have to throw more money at the problem. So it would be better to pay attention now rather than pay more later.

 

[trevorhayden]

More policing always seems to bring more criminals. No thanks.

 

[kcantor]

More policing always seems to bring more criminals. No thanks.

As far as I know, there is absolutely no truth to the statement that more policing brings more criminals.

More police would - and should - result in more crimes being solved and more people being convicted but more convictions doesn't mean more criminals in the way the statement suggests.

Now that more women are likely to report a rape and testify in court because they are afforded more and more sensitive policing certainly doesn't mean that more policing has resulted in more rapes simply because there are more arrests and convictions. That would would be a perverse conclusion/use of statistics. The same is true for pretty much everything police are expected to solve or resolve.

 

[policyenthusiast]

As far as I know, there is absolutely no truth to the statement that more policing brings more criminals.

More police would - and should - result in more crimes being solved and more people being convicted but more convictions doesn't mean more criminals in the way the statement suggests.

Now that more women are likely to report a rape and testify in court because they are afforded more and more sensitive policing certainly doesn't mean that more policing has resulted in more rapes simply because there are more arrests and convictions. That would would be a perverse conclusion/use of statistics. The same is true for pretty much everything police are expected to solve or resolve.

In Lethbridge, there was a specific part of Downtown that had a disproportionately large amount of arrests/police interventions. The data supported the notion that that area needed increased policing, based on where intervention was happening.

Turns out the reason there were so many arrests in that area was that the primary police station was in the middle of it. There were more arrests because there were more cops, and a faster response time. Overall crime in Canada is on a consistent decline, policing costs are steadily growing, and the reallocation of police resources to higher-risk areas like Chinatown and public transit have resulted in better perceptions of safety.

More cops don't beget more criminals. Life isn't a Batman movie.

 

[yeggator]

More cops don't beget more criminals. Life isn't a Batman movie.

I’d argue that with all the catch-and-release, it sure feels like it. We need a Dent Act