These days when it comes to the law and order agenda the looming question is whether we should exchange the RCMP for a provincial contingent.
From the top echelons right down to the troops on the front lines the reputation of our national police force has become a sorry catalogue of bungled investigations, reckless use of firearms, and members, both on and off duty, generally gone astray.
Across the province the people we pay to serve and protect our interests are misbehaving. Sixteen RCMP members in B.C. are on paid leave for transgressions ranging from impaired driving to having sex in their cruisers while on duty.
Who can forget Cpl. Benjamin (Monty) Robinson, one of the Mounties at the centre of the YVR Taser fiasco? Robinson was also allegedly impaired when the Jeep he was driving struck and killed a motorcyclist.
None of this can be excused but let's be realistic folks, the Left Coast is a tough gig for the cops.
Are there any jurisdictions in this country with a more loosy-goosy attitude towards the law? According to Maclean's magazine five of the top ten cities in Canada with crime levels above the national average are in B.C.
This province is in a kind of 60s time capsule where "doin' your own thing" is the norm, all the way from taking a long toke on a doobie while driving, to producing a bumper crop of the hallucinogenic stuff under hot lights fuelled by stolen hydro.
According to numbers released by the Public Safety Ministry, nearly 20,000 B.C. drivers have been ticketed for using hand-held devices in the first six month after enforcement began in February, there have been more than 1,400 penalties for drunk driving, more than 400 tickets for excessive speeding were issued and nearly 1,700 vehicles have been impounded.
Even the top echelons of the provincial government are not immune to the bad boy act. Kash Heed was the third B.C. solicitor general in a row to resign under a cloud. He was preceded by John van Dongen and John Les.
And who can forget our premier's DUI conviction in Hawaii?
On the darker side, B.C. was the home base for the notorious child killer Clifford Olsen. It was purportedly where the Air India bombing was hatched and where a happy-go lucky pig farmer named Robert Pickton allegedly murdered upwards of 60 women.
It is no surprise that the drugs, gangs, and drive by shooting lifestyle is thriving on the Lower Mainland.
Will the installation of a provincial police force put a damper on this criminal recklessness? Not likely.
Besides, according to some experts, a B.C.-based cop shop will pry considerably more tax dollars out of our wallets than we spend on the red tunic brigade.
Despite their growing list of indiscretions, it's time to stop blaming the cops. What we need is an attitude shift away from a deeply ingrained scoff law culture to one that views our legal framework as a bulwark against mayhem and where the whole community understands that the law applies equally to all residents without exception.
