This can't all be put on gangs. We have always been way ahead of the curve for murders. And #2 for sexual assaults? Sounds more like the work of hillbillies.

Bla, Bla, Bla...Spin ..spin ..spin

Stop making excuses! The RCMP in this city is concentrating on grow ops, drinking drivers and speeding because that is where the money is. No money catching a sexual predator or gang members. The amount of money taking in during drug busts is always in the thousands and fines for drinking and speeding has become just as lucrative. It is always a matter of money even for the police. GREED and MONEY will always come first in today's society and it sickens me.

Women are not safe here, end of story!

This is nothing more than a photo op which to show the importance of our tax dollars being spent on a new police station, which will drive the crime rate down, NOT.

A bit of a PR issue there Dan?
Obviously,the RCMP are not all that concerned...they sent a Constable...where is the top guy?
(no disrespect to Constable Smith intended)

Well, it`s true....Prince George...

B.C. Liberal land....Nuff said.

You are right, this cannot all be put on gangs, but get rid of the gangs and we would be very far down the list. Caringsoul, you don't believe the grow ops are tied to the gangs? I am not sure of the exact numbers but I believe somewhere close to 80% of our murders this year are gang / drug related so what does that tell you? Quit bitching and go to the gang summit. Push city hall to get tough. Maybe we need a bylaw to give the authority to run these azzholes out of town? Sitting back and complaining on a blog does nothing - if this isn't a wake up call to take our town back then nothing is.

Did he say "mismanagement of our budget"? Hmmm? Maybe that is what he unconsciously meant.

This is too funny! We got the nicest building in Prince George at 250 George Street full of judges, crown lawyers, probation officers, etc. The RCMP has built a fancy new building housing the gang unit. Now the local detachment wants another 52 million to build another building of incompetents! We have a parole unit here that accepts any criminal that the rest of Canada does not want and we put them out in the bush east of the city that most people would pay for a holiday. We have one judge that shudders every time a jail sentence is needed (that will be the courtroom that is always full with lawyers). All the police cars are parked in front of the police station or the side of the road with the driver working or playing on a computer all day. Probation after probation sentences......gee I wonder why Prince George is the crime capital ?

"The RCMP in this city is concentrating on grow ops" . . . "No money catching a sexual predator or gang members"

The large scale grow ops are directly linked to gang activity. Why wouldn't the RCMP go after these?

Part of the reason why gang activity flourishes is because nobody cares and/or they think that they are somehow not part of the problem. If you do illegal drugs, you are part of the problem. If you are a business in town who caters to this criminal element, you are part of the problem. If your daughter's boyfriend is unemployed, drives a 50K SUV, wears flashy jewellery and clothes and you don't question this, yes indeed, you are part of the problem.

People need to wake up.

That's crazy talk NMG - all of the self admitted dope smokers on here swear they are not part of the problem... Its just a plant, blah blah blah

LOL All the drug (grow op busts) have not made it hard to buy dope. I know many people from all walks of life who smoke it and guess what? They have not once NOT BEEN ABLE TO BUY THEIR SMOKE! WHY? Smokers are not buying locally grown smoke! The big seller comes from the bikers and geeeee...when was the last biker arrested???? THINK PEOPLE THINK!

Dipstick Dan again shows how clueless he is. What a fine job as mayor Dan.. My taxes constantly increase, the city and roads are falling apart and we are now the most crime riden city in all of Canada. EXCELLENT WORK mr mayor and council.

That's crazy talk NMG - all of the self admitted dope smokers on here swear they are not part of the problem... Its just a plant, blah blah blah

Municca - so you complain about crime but admit that you know a bunch of lawbreakers? Have you reported this ease of buying dope? Remember if its grown out of town that just means its a growop in someone elses community. I am so sick of dope smokers who think they have nothing to do with gangs and violence.

"Constable Smith says she is aware there are good support systems in place for victims of sexual assaults so it may be that more are coming forward to tell their story because they know those support systems are there."

This reallllly reaching.

Also, the mayor encouraging people to attend a forum, at the cost of $55 per person, which was initiated by this town's daily newspaper, is insanity. Thereis plenty of blame to go around for Prince George's standing in the McLean's article, beginning with the constant bonbardment of headlines on crimes which are more often than not, crime on crime. Anotherwords, the fellow who died recently in the VLA, no, he didn't deserve to die, and yes it was awful. But it's risky behaviour and that begets risk.

A much more factual assessment and reporting than the previous story about "This is a good news story".

Good for opinion250 to get this straight and to Rogers to call it straight up.

I wonder if being crime capital of Canada assisted in our bid for the winter games. Maybe ICBC can sell additional gang insurance to visitors attending the winter games.

Campbell and his HST buddies should be all over that one.

You can now understand why Commonwealth wanted a medical office downtown. True visionaries.

Moving from #4 in crime to #1 in one year is no small feat. Hats off to our 1 term mayor Dan Rodgers for another job well done.

Like I said before Ms. Smith, go catch a speeder and impound the family car. That is a real hit on crime now isn't it! No it is not, it is a waste of money. The RCMP are a total waste of money.

You guys need a provincial police force period. Kick the bums (RCMP) out of there. Waste of tax payers dollars.

Is it my imagination, or does Mayor Dan look like he is scared out of his mind? Or is it all the grey hair he is getting from the stress he has created for himself? Or is it because of his lack of leadersh!+ and all the bull$#!+ spending he is in charge of?

I personally think he is getting the grey hair from Gordie! Should turn white pretty soon don't you think??

"Good for opinion250 to get this straight and to Rogers to call it straight up"

Agreed. I have far more respect for Rogers coming out and admitting that there is a problem that needs addressed, rather than hearing the same ole "well the stats don't tell the truth", "the numbers are misleading", etc.

Good on him for taking it head on.

spin,spin,spin spin. Justify a new police building. Dan probably spent our money to get Andrew Coyne to publish that false info. There's no way in hell that this is the most dangerous city - - what about Ottawa? Joking aside, Surrey sucks more than any place in this country; for everything.

Every single week I see road blocks on our highways... what they are looking for I am not sure... usually a dozen officers standing around talking to the motorists as they go through the road block. Usually at places like WIndy Point or other locations that will take up an officers entire day... the results are pittyfull I'm sure for the man power involved... its about tax collection pure and simple... trying to find a crime where none really exist in the effort to raise revenue. I find it disgusting when they allow the gang crime to go on and the extasy sellers to destroy lives... pot and drivers are not the problem in PG, but that is where the vast majority of our resources go (blame the fools too that allways say we need to make that the priority).

If we are to do something about crime why are our resources focused on revenue collection and not going after real criminals that are destoying peoples lives... I blame the leadership and Dan Rodgers needs to take the blame and not be pointing fingers to the magazine or anyone else.

We as home owners in PG are the ones paying 90% of the cost of the allocation of resources, and as such Dan Rodgers is the one who should be directing the RCMP in their efforts. This is on him and the RCMP and their leadership and they should wear it if they think maning road side stops trying to find crime where none exist is the answer to our problems.

The whole situation is disgusting and its holding PG back from the potential we have as a city, because at the end of the day... why would anyone want to live in PG.

Got to like the people who say that pot smokers are the problem and the reason for gangs and crime. Give your head a shake! It is like the government targeting drinking drivers while selling them the booze. The seller is the problem. If they did not sell the product there would be no buyers and the after effect. Alcohol causes more problems in society than any other drug! Just because it is legal does not make it right.

From reading the Articals on Macleans web site.

http://www2.macleans.ca/2010/10/14/national-crime-rankings-2010/

"In the past, articles have used data that was two years old"

It looks like the information is from the 2009 crime information provided by the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics. so the information in not likely 2 years old but who knows it might be.

"Smith says she is aware there are good support systems in place for victims of sexual assaults so it may be that more are coming forward to tell their story because they know those support systems are there."

The support is not the issue most cities have support for victims. the issue is that they are occuring.

Sorry for 2 posts but I have alot to say.

The gang activity has a lot to do with it but I think that the local ecconomy and the increases in rent, food, taxes, utilities, service charges, ect... is not helping. as well as the low minimum wage(a lot of BC cities are high on the list) and the high unemployment rate. The gangs pay better and garantee a job this is sad but may look attractive to young people with low or no income. We need to stop people from being attracted to the gang. The gang task force is good but it is only one step. We have to make a stand and prove that crime does not pay.
It is getting to the point that people are having trouble surviving never mind actually living.

It has everything to do with the people who live here. Take a look in the mirror. If you want to criticize the RCMP, you should do your homework. You need to look at the clearance rate (rate at which crimes are solved) to see f they are doing their jobs. I would hazard to guess that their clearance rate is as high, if not higher then most detachments. that means they are doing a good job, they just can't keep a lid on a city with the amount of social issues we have. Let's face it, this town has been rough since the day it began and it remains that way. We also having people from all over the north coming to pg to run wild. They come here from smaller communities, commit crime and get a day in jail, they stay fo r free at the shelters, eat for free =...cycle never ends.

It has everything to do with the people who live here. Take a look in the mirror. If you want to criticize the RCMP, you should do your homework. You need to look at the clearance rate (rate at which crimes are solved) to see f they are doing their jobs. I would hazard to guess that their clearance rate is as high, if not higher then most detachments. that means they are doing a good job, they just can't keep a lid on a city with the amount of social issues we have. Let's face it, this town has been rough since the day it began and it remains that way. We also having people from all over the north coming to pg to run wild. They come here from smaller communities, commit crime and get a day in jail, they stay fo r free at the shelters, eat for free =...cycle never ends.

We have caused a lot of our own problems , because we have turned a blind eye as the problems were and are happening around us. We have to fight to get our City back. We we have to ask more questions as the goverment trys to dump more of Canadas unwanted in our back yard.