The socialist powers-that-be chased the Guardian Angels out of town when they sought to set up a chapter in Toronto. We, the residents of the ailing city, were told that we don’t need such tyrants and goose steppers patrolling our streets. And so the predictable panacea of social funding for basketball courts and crack kits was provided, and the city continued to die.
Till now. Chinatown has had enough of addicts, whores and panhandlers dirtying up its streets, stealing from its businesses, and scaring away its customers. And for the last two weeks, Chinatown has been employing a private security company to do what the police won’t do: Deal with petty crimes.
So far more than two dozen “banning orders†have been issued against disruptive undesirables, reported Ross McLeod, president and CEO of Intelligarde, the company patrolling the neighbourhood. Several intoxicated individuals have been carted off by police or ambulance, and he said numerous aggressive panhandlers have been “dealt with†by his employees.
“The last guy we arrested in Chinatown had lost control of his bowels, let me say, and was covered in his own feces but he would not stop aggressively panhandling,†reported Mr. McLeod, adding that responding police officers weren’t all that happy to have to take the person off his employees’ hands.
“For the low-level disorder, the public police just don’t have time for that unless it escalates into something much more serious.â€
It isn’t just Chinatown, either. Liberty Village, Emery Village, Downtown Yonge Street and Kennedy Road in Scarborough all use either security firms or off duty cops. Why? Because petty crimes, vandalism, drug and alcohol abuse and panhandling are all problems if you’re trying to run a business. They may seem like small fry to the cops and commissioners, as well as the mayor, but to the residents and business owners, these “broken windows” only serve to make their areas a little worse every day.
Naturally, the mayor has a better idea:
Mayor David Miller said this week that he would prefer to see city staff such as social workers called in to deal with panhandlers and homeless people so that they can be referred to the proper support services.
Social workers. Yup, that’ll do it. When the next vagrant shits himself on the sidewalk, some social worker can come along to help him rebuild his self-esteem. One can only hope she’ll offer him a clean tissue in the process.
And the unions are pissed off, too:
Dave Wilson, the president of the union representing uniformed officers, has complained that private, lesser-trained employees taking over duties historically delegated to police is “lowering the standards in the policing world,†and “a dangerous slippery slope.â€
No Dave. The standards have already been lowered so much, that private citizens are having to raise them up themselves. They’re not waiting for your union boys to do it for them. And that just rips your knitting, doesn’t it?
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