First off, no disrespect to the police. I have a problem when day in and day out the police are pulling people over for traffic violations and running road blocks when there is so much crime going on in B.C cities and towns.
We as tax payers pay large amounts of money each year to keep us all safe and for the police to uphold the laws but I have yet to see a decline in crime and criminals walking our streets.
I sure notice the incline in traffic violations! I mean police are handing tickets out like candy and it's getting to be too much. More and more us hard working Canadians are having to pay these damn traffic tickets so just some food for thought we all need to start opening our eyes.
This opinion landed in my inbox the other day. It's not an uncommon sentiment, but I think that it is misguided.
The Traffic Rules
These rules create uniformity and predictability for all road users, including drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians, by providing a standard code of conduct. Road users can predict the behaviour of others who follow them and avoid collisions.
Police and Traffic Tickets
Police cannot "hand out tickets like candy" unless drivers choose to disobey the rules. You always have the choice of following the rules and leaving the police to deal with someone else.
The Risk Posed by Motor Vehicles
You are more likely to suffer financial loss, personal injury or death through the operation of a motor vehicle than you are from all the other criminal actions combined.
If you happen to be in the under 24 age group, your primary cause of death in BC is a motor vehicle collision.
The Cost of ICBC Insurance
Do you buy car insurance? 80% of what you pay each year is spent by ICBC to cover direct expenses from crashes. Think of how nice it would be if there were no crashes and you could keep that money to spend on something else.
Criminals Drive to and From Crime
Very few criminals get around by a means other than driving, as we all do. Chase enough traffic violators and sooner or later you begin catching the criminals occupying those vehicles.
Do you still think that traffic law enforcement is not worth police time and effort?
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Citizens have perception of how things work, sometimes they are incorrect because the perception is different from reality.
An obvious one is when a caller is reporting a dire emergency to police fire or ambulance. For many they subconsciously think the quicker the call taker ends the call the sooner the emergency service will be on the way to the scene. Of course that is a misconception. The call taker can continue to gather information from the caller and update responders who are enroute.
The same misconception can occur for police duties. A comparison I guess can be made with youngsters when they initially are learning to play soccer. They call it “swarm ball”, where all the kids run around the field in a swarm chasing the soccer ball, verses positional soccer.
Well police work is like positional soccer. There are many jobs and priorities. There are certain duties assigned to certain members. Some are tasked with Traffic Enforcement. Because of the nature of police work, a member assigned to traffic enforcement duties, can become involved in another type of investigation, likely as a cover unit, then resuming his/her assigned duty when assistance in no longer required.
Another anomaly of police work is, while travelling around conducting General Duties (RCMP) Patrol Duties (Municipal Police) traffic violations are observed and, action is taken. Police administration allot certain percentages of their resources to the various needs of the community. Just because we see some members conducting traffic duties doesn’t mean others aren’t conducting other types of investigations.
The perception there are “police are handing tickets out like candy”, might also be by design. One of the philosophies for increasing adherence to traffic laws is “high visibility” of traffic members. You could be driving in traffic next to a couple of plain clothes members conducting a criminal investigation completely unaware of their presence, but a marked police car with emergency lights flashing at the side of the road gets attention.
My frustration, and an issue we don’t hear much about, is traffic collision investigations. RCMP have “opted” out of investigating all but the most serious collisions. Police issue traffic tickets for violation because such violation might cause a collision, but when a collision occurs no investigation/ticket. Does that make sense ?
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Way back in 2011 there is much the same thread. You had a thoughtful comment then too!
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It seems to me that traffic violations and speeding are crimes and it is hard to believe that a lot of people think otherwise. It might be time for ICBC to do a little messaging to enlighten people about this fact. I like to think well of all my fellow citizens but it seems either arrogance or stupidity is slowly encroaching more and more.
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I never see any law enforcement any more. I live in Kelowna and the only place the police are consistently at is “club fed,” the unhoused camp on the rail trail.
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Perhaps a fuller understanding of how police work