Most Dangerous Community Designation Should be Gone Next Year
Wednesday, December 14, 2011 @ 12:29 PM
Superintendent Eric Stubbs and Mayor Shari Green talk about Crime Stats in Prince George.
Click on photo or on video icon for clip of Superintendent Stubbs
Prince George, B.C. – For the second straight year, Maclean’s magazine has selected Prince George as the most dangerous city in Canada.
That designation is based on stats from 2010, a year which saw 7 homicides, 4 serious sexual assaults, and 343 serious assaults. It was, as was predicted by policing officials in P.G., a “peak” year as they targeted gangs and gang activity.
So far this year, there have been no homicides, 3 serious sexual assaults and 244 serious assaults, so progress is being made says Superintendent Eric Stubbs, “I want to be clear, this number of zero homicides in the community is not a fluke. It is the result of hard work, intelligence lead, focused policing. I firmly believe that this work has prevented homicides in our community.”
But RCMP Superintendent Eric Stubbs says despite its “issues” Prince George is a safe community “ I wouldn’t bring my family here if I didn’t think so.” He adds that those who are involved in high risk activity, puts those people at higher risk for becoming a victim of violent crime.
Prince George RCMP Inspector Keith Redl says Prince George is not the most violent community B.C,, in fact of the other 169 jurisdictions in the province it ranks 16th overall on the Crime Severity Index, but Maclean’s only examines those communities with a population of 10 thousand ore more.
Superintendent Stubbs says the RCMP has done a great deal over the past year to reduce crime in Prince George “In late 2009 and late 2010, we had three women murdered in the city. In response to these tragic incidents, we partnered with the Major Crime Unit and dedicated a considerable amount of resources into these investigations, that has now resulted in charges approved against Cody Legebokoff. In regards to gangs and guns, which is a priority in Prince George, we have done a number of initiatives. Our priority has been to target high profile gang members and we have been successful in laying a number of criminal code and drug charges against a number of gangsters in the community. Every week, I see our members taking firearms off the streets, handguns, sawed off shot guns, AK 47s, every week I’ve seen that since I’ve been here. The addition of the Combined Forces Special enforcement Unit and an integrated marijuana enforcement team have also had positive results and have complimented our municipal policing efforts. On an education component as well, we are active in the school district educating all grade 8 students with our anti gang presentation.”
Stubbs says there have been other positives, such as the development of the Downtown Enforcement Unit, which over the past 18 months has decreased crime in the downtown core by 24%. A youth at Risk team has been developed to help prevent youth from getting involved in crime. The crime reduction team has developed strategies to target prolific offenders. “Of the 15 prolific offenders that were on our list, 9 are in custody, 6 are on some type of judicial conditions” says Superintendent Stubbs.
There have been numerous search warrants executed, which have netted significant amounts of drugs and firearms, and resulted in numerous gang members and prolific offenders going to jail.
Mayor Shari Green says “Crime reduction is a work in progress” and she is optimistic the designation of “most Dangerous City in Canada” will be dropped next year because of the good work being done. She says she will be leading City Council to make sure public safety remains a top priority, but says if the RCMP ask for more funding for more officers, “We just don’t have the funds to fund more officers, we just don’t have the funds.”
Mayor Green says while no one is surpised at P.G’s ranking this year because of the high number of homicides in 2010, its the stats from 2011 which "tell the story, so I think you will see a dramatic difference next year."
Comments
First Picture of Green without her “Teeth”
Google Joseph M. “Joe” Arpaio, sheriff of Maricopa County in Arizona.
Just gather up all the habitual convicts who committed their usual assaults and worse in Prince George and send them to Arizona and Joe’s tent city camp site for a very extended stay – for an attitude *adjustment.*
Soon we will be the most improved virtually crime free city in B.C.!
16th out of 169 still puts us in the top 10% of the province, never mind country for 2011
I for one would like to see the stats for downtown over the last 20 years compared to just outside downtown as they say crime has NOT increased in areas adjacent due to driving the crime element elsewhere. 1.5 years is not a proper stat, neither is 5 years as the downtown patrol was already there…20 years ago it wasn’t so that is where we can see the true graph of what is going on over the past few decades
If you read the ongoing debate at the citizen website on the handgun incident at a local pub and read the comments it would seem to indicate the opposite of what is being said in the article above. While we still have crack shack records flaunting itself to the public with its revolving door to the city jail (one in and one out) there seems to be no end to the carnage we face as a city
I don’t see Prince George as a scary place what so ever. Try living in Victoria, now that’s scary place. However if you are a rat then yah I would be scared too. To me the only scary is the people running the show in this city.
High Risk Youth Team? What, like one person! Prevention is key but how important does RCMP take this when they only fund 1 officer? Gang recruitment is strong and this kids are sitting ducks given increase in poverty, poor housing, and support services being cut!
Save our kids!
244 serious assaults during 2011 is a very troubling number! How many of these were committed by repeat offenders? How about a *three strikes and you stay locked up* policy?
Poverty, poor housing and support services being cut is not an acceptable excuse for people turning into criminals! Besides, many young criminals have wads of cash in their pockets and some were raised in well-to-do families with none of the basic necessities lacking!
It’s all the fault of society, of course!
I feel the city is alot safer this years than last few.
Better not do nothing wrong PrinceGeorge, because I’ll be calling the cops on ya for damn sure buster.
Joseph M. “Joe” Arpaio, sheriff of Maricopa County in Arizona.
Real tough guy if you are in the states illegally, not so much if you are a sexual assault or rape victim. Lots of calls for him to resign at the moment
“Should be Gone Next Year”
Wow! Now we all feel safer. How about just lockin these pukes up, (forever if need be) and protecting the rest of us for a change. Judges, lawyers and politicians need to stop using the justice system as their retirement savings plan!!!
You’d almost think our Judges, lawyers and politicians were the top dogs in our own BC crime syndicate.
Dragonmaster it’s people like you that made this country a police state. I ought to call the cops on you.
Dissident, Crawl back in your hole. Dragonmaster seems to know what he’s talking about. Why is Stubbs happy there are no murders? Last year, who were murdered? Drug dealers, pimps and various other creeps, that’s who. Why would we want to put a stop to that? You’d rather our crooked judges kept freeing them to kill again? (By selling drugs) or bad guys killing bad guys? Sure glad there are not too many like dissident out there.
It’s all to do with the way you manipulate the stats. Between City Hall and the brave members of the RCMP we will be feeling warm and fuzzy inside before you know it. And you won’t even know it!
dissident, smoke another one!
sure hope the rcmp didnt hurt themselves banging on their chests or hurt their arms patting themselves on the back
Becca you and I have talked about this before I believe.
Better to have one officer assigned to the High Risk team than none at all, right?
And if the RCMP want to continue the good work they are doing, they will acknowledge the merit of the High Risk Team and assign another member.
Donald; it’s a poor photographer who takes only one picture an publishes it. Actually, Shari looks pretty “worn out” in that photo.
Maybe some of you should have your picture in here, Sherri Green won her election.
Why dont we give her a chance. In fact,
maybe some of you should go get a job.
Better yet, run for mayor.
Wonder if Vancouver will top the list next year, hockey riot, two hits in the last 24 hours.
I just don’t see it….but then again I don’t run with the criminal element crowd….
I must agree with dragon on this one.
and onesmanthoughts….women are very sneeky individuals….divorced you are, are still married, they all have a hidden agenda. dont give her this crap right off the top.
“nice” super tech. I love it. Suits for gals come in so many nice colors. (other than dark grey). picky yes, but i am only picking out the odvious. Christy Clark always looks great in color.
And by the way “onesmansthoughts”. I would love to run for mayor. but I work 12 hours a day and have no financial aid to make a difference in this town. Time nor money will ever win this battle.I work these long hours to pay for the cities taxes….
If you want to make the community a safer place to live then report crime and if you don’t report it you are just as guilty ad the ones who did the crime. Criminals rely on fear to keep you quiet well guess what if you speak out you win they lose. If you don’t speak out you are just as guilty as the bad guy.
Lets get real. Years ago, when he was still on the air, Arsenio Hall announced the highest B&E rate per 1000 people in North America was in Prince George British Columbia.(where ever that is he stated)
When you have gang bangers in local gyms wearing flack jackets in the afternoon there is definitely an issue here.
Now our new mayor has to pay back all the business that put up big money for her election. Sherri Green said yesterday- we don’t have money for more police. I guess not when she has to line the pockets that paid for her election.
Try the Gangsters Out blog for real PG updates
http://gangstersout.blogspot.com/2011/12/drug-violence-in-prince-george.html
Try to look at the upside.
As crime capital we continually attack new players to the game. These people buy houses at inflated prices for their grow ops, purchase luxury auto’s and frequent the local upscale retaurants. Without the criminal element less RCMP members would be required and PG would suffer another drop in population, less goods being fenced, fewer insurance claims resulting in more layoffs, and on and on it goes.
Of course the mayor and local RCMP want to adjust the criteria for arriving at the results, but of course only for PG.
After looking at the complete list of cities it certainly appears Ontario and Quebec are the safest places to reside. Maybe there is some truth to the fact the RCMP police west of the Ontario/Manitoba border and east of the border Ontario and Quebec have their own provincial police forces.
Soon the trophy case at city hall will need to be expanded. Crime capital of Canada 2 years running, and Ospika blvd voted worst road in BC, pot hole capital of Canada, the city hall endorsed study indicating 1 in 4 homes in PG burn wood for heat, and of course the ongoing waste of 15 million dollars on the so called community energy system.
There is still RCMP in Ontario… or used to be when I lived there. The RCMP is in charge of highways out and provincial police within the cities I think it was, there was some overlap and I heard from a lot of people if you did anything ‘bad’ you wanted to get caught by the RCMP and not the OPP.
Do pellets count as wood heat?
Ospika was the worst paved road I had ever driven but seems to be fixed up quite nice now
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