Police can’t solve people’s problems

Mr. Godbout is right in saying “slapping on the cuffs and throwing them in the back of cruisers” doesn’t fix anything.

I have some knowledge in that regard and I don’t think the police or the complainant expect it to.

The police are called to enforce the law and when someone is getting assaulted they don’t expect to have a respectful dialogue with attentive listening as he suggests.

Separating the combatants is usually necessary, hence the visit to the back seat or the crowbar hotel. Conversations about the “underlying causes” seldom bring about changes in lifestyle even if you can get either side to listen and a new version of events is common the next day when the parties have all sobered up.

When the call comes to the police it usually describes something like “Uncle Pete is drunk and threatening to kill us.”

The dispatcher would be happy to refer the call to Mr. Godbout, Mr. Poser or a Car 60 unit but usually it is around 0300 hours and they are not available without an appointment.

If you call the police to fix a difficult social problem, you called the wrong department of government.

And by the way, if you do call any of the people mentioned above or the police, you had best speak English regardless of how disconnected you are from your heritage.

As I understand it, once you speak the language of your heritage, you will no longer need modern policing.

Jack Paul Prince George