Community Safety Committee Meeting Minutes - October 10, 2001
COMMUNITY SAFETY COMMITTEE
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Date: |
Wednesday, October 10th, 2001 |
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Place: |
Anderson Room |
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Present: |
Councillor Bill McNulty, Chair |
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Call to Order: |
The Chair called the meeting to order at 4:37 p.m., at which time he advised that Item 4 would be dealt with as the final matter on the agenda. |
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MINUTES |
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1. |
It was moved and seconded |
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That the minutes of the meeting of the Community Safety Committee held on Thursday, August 23rd, 2001, be adopted as circulated. |
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CARRIED |
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CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON POLICING |
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2. |
It was moved and seconded |
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That the minutes of the meeting of the Citizens Advisory Committee on Policing held on Tuesday, August 28th, 2001 and on Tuesday, September 25th, 2001, be received for information. |
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CARRIED |
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(Acting Mayor Lyn Greenhill entered the meeting at 4:39 p.m.) |
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COMMUNITY SAFETY DIVISION |
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3. |
COMMUNITY SAFETY ADVISORY COMMITTEE TERMS OF REFERENCE |
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The General Manager, Community Safety, Chuck Gale, briefly reviewed the report with Committee members. |
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Mr. James Lavery, Chair of the Citizens Advisory Committee on Policing, stated that the Committee was not opposed to any change being proposed, however they were wondering why the current committee could not undertake what the Community Safety Division was suggesting be done. He stated that there were dedicated people on the Committee who had been in place for a number of years and who were familiar with the issues. Mr. Lavery stated that the mandate could be expanded, and he questioned why the Committee could not continue, and why it was necessary to disband the existing Committee and appoint a new body of people who had not been trained. |
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Discussion ensued among Committee members and staff on the appointment process and whether members of the current Citizens Advisory Committee on Policing could be appointed to the new committee. It was stressed during the discussion that the change in mandate was not being make because the current committee was not doing its job, and that the expertise of the Committee would not be thrown away. |
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During the discussion, Councillor Kumagai stated that he would like the matter referred to the General Manager, Community Safety because it was important to discuss these recommendations with the current Committee and the RCMP. He stated that he had the impression that certain Committee members only wanted to function within the policing portion of the mandate, and he felt that it would be interesting to determine if there was merit for specific sub-committees on policing and fire issues. Cllr. Kumagai stressed the importance of volunteerism within the community and the need to get everyone on side. He concluded by indicating that the Citizens Advisory Committee on Policing had made some valid points which could be incorporated into the new mandate. |
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In concluding his presentation, Mr. Lavery stressed that the Committee was not opposed to change and were willing to help and to carry on. The Chair, on behalf of the Committee, then expressed appreciation to Mr. Lavery and his Committee for their hard work and dedication. |
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Mr. Gale added that as a consequence of the discussion, a suggestion was made that a further option be added, that an advisory task force be considered. He indicated that in the next report to Committee on this matter, he would include history and comment on that option. |
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It was moved and seconded |
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That the report (dated September 25th, 2001, from the General Manager, Community Safety), regarding the Community Safety Advisory Committee Terms of Reference, be referred to the General Manager for a report and recommendations which are sensitive to the interests of the Community Safety Committee, and take into account the material presented by the Advisory Committee. |
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CARRIED |
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5. |
COMMUNITY SAFETY VISION AND 2001-2003 PLAN |
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The Manager, Divisional Programs, Shawn Issel, reviewed her report with the Committee. |
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(Councillor Kumagai left the meeting at 4:58 p.m., during Ms. Issels review.) |
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Discussion then ensued among Committee members and staff, during which appreciation was expressed for the simplicity of the long term goal. As well comments were made regarding: |
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the Integrated Approach Initiative, which the Chair felt was a step in the right direction to reaching one of the goals of the Committee |
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the Prevention Initiative the suggestion was made that staff incorporate into the plan, proof of the success of this initiative, as it was felt that such proof could be useful in the future for justification and funding. |
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During the discussion, reference was made to other programs which were in place but not mentioned in the report, such as "Blockwatch", and questions were raised as to how these programs could be identified. The suggestion was made that an inventory be undertaken to determine the number and type of programs currently available which related to community safety. The suggestion was also made that a joint meeting with City and the School District staff might be necessary to assist with the prevention programs. |
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(Councillor Kumagai returned to the meeting at 5:05 p.m., during the above discussion.) |
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It was moved and seconded |
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(1) |
That the draft Community Safety Division 2001-2003 plan (attached to the report dated May 7th, 2001, from the Manager, Divisional Programs), be endorsed. |
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(2) |
That staff continue with Phase 2 (as outlined in the report dated May 7th, 2001, from the Manager, Divisional Programs). |
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CARRIED |
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4. |
COMMUNITY SAFETY DIVISION - STATISTICS |
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The Manager, Community Sandra Tokarczyk, through a PowerPoint presentation, reviewed the new process to be initiated to manage the Divisions statistics. A copy of the presentation is on file in the City Clerks Office. |
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Reviewed during the presentation were the following subjects: |
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Divisional Highlights The Manager, Emergency & Environmental Programs, Suzanne Bycraft, spoke about the opening of the Emergency Operations Centre in response to the stranding of airline passengers in Richmond as a result of the tragic events which occurred in the United States on September 11th; Supt. Ward Clapham, OIC of the Richmond Detachment of the RCMP, spoke about "Operation Green Clean" (a copy of the pamphlet circulated on this program is on file in the City Clerks Office) |
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Notable Events |
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Operational Trends . |
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Following the conclusion of the presentation, discussion ensued among Committee members and staff on the report, during which reference was made to the comment made that crime statistics were 23% less. Questions were raised about statistics for specific crimes, such as break and enter, grow ops and vandalism, and staff were asked to provide numbers rather than percentages to the Committee to show that the number of incidents were decreasing. |
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Reference was also made to the increased security at the Canada/U.S. border crossings as a result of the September 11th attack, and a brief discussion ensued on whether this increased security would make it more difficult to smuggle marijuana to the United States. |
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Concern was expressed that the Committee would have to wait until the fourth quarter in 2002 before receiving an update on statistics, and the request was made that a progress report be provided on a monthly basis. |
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It was moved and seconded |
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That the report (dated September 27th, 2001, from the Manager, Community Bylaws), regarding Community Safety Division Statistics, be received for information. |
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CARRIED |
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6. |
MANAGERS REPORT |
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(a) |
Supt. Clapham reported that as a result of the September 11th terrorist attacks taking place in the United States, activities at the Detachment had increased significantly. He noted however that the expenses incurred were being billed to the Federal Government. A brief discussion then ensued among Committee members and staff on the impact which the attacks were having on the provision of services to the public. |
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(b) |
Suzanne Bycraft spoke further on the lessons learned from the opening of the Emergency Operations Centre, and a brief discussion ensued on the impression given during comments that there had not been sufficient volunteers available to provide assistance. |
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ADJOURNMENT |
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It was moved and seconded |
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That the meeting adjourn (5:55 p.m.). |
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CARRIED |
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Certified a true and correct copy of the Minutes of the meeting of the Community Safety Committee of the Council of the City of Richmond held on Wednesday, October 10th, 2001. |
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_________________________________ |
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Councillor Bill McNulty |
Fran J. Ashton |