I admire individuals who have the fortitude to take a stand publicly against things they don't believe in or policies they believe are wrong.
I am wondering though about Eric Allen's stance in relation to the RCMP building. If his quote is any indication of his perception of the world, those who choose to follow this person are being lead by the uninformed.
He states "It's a great building but we're talking a police station here, a place where you've got to house some prisoners and have some office space and parking lot for police officers." He obviously knows nothing about what he is advocating against.
Prince George detachment handles thousands of prisoners. Cell blocks must be designed to safely accommodate male and female prisoners as well as youth. Because prisoners are admitted/discharged at any time, safe passageways must be provided for staff and prisoners that don't compromise their safety or security. Specialized secure rooms also facilitate prisoners making phone calls and meeting with their lawyers.
A large part of any police office is dedicated to house the thousands of exhibits seized during the course of investigations. DNA storage and handling is extremely scientific and requires specialized equipment.
The forensic laboratory requires significant space and specialized equipment.
Complex investigations have dozens of boxes of documents associated to a single file. Multiply this by the thousands of investigations and you can imagine the space required.
Various types and sizes of dedicated interview rooms are used regularly.
Work stations are required for the 200-plus personnel who work in the building as well as specialized units. How about the police service dogs and their handlers, traffic services, victims services, school liaison, crime prevention and others?
What about the space needed for the operational support services such as data entry, financial and clerical support, human resource management and administration, weapons storage facilities, etc.
Mr. Allen states "the police are going to have a better building in this town than everybody else."
Is he saying that it is wrong for the police to have a new functional building that happens to have visual appeal, or that the police should be housed in substandard accommodation?
The current detachment was designed and built prior to the amalgamation of the rural areas into the city boundaries in 1974. Perhaps with proper foresight, this new civic building will accommodate the municipal police force for decades to come.
M.J. Morris,
RCMP superintendent (retired)
Prince George
