SA国际影视传媒淒o I live in a safe community?SA国际影视传媒�
A simple question any citizen in any Canadian town should be able to answer introspectively for themselves by accessing raw and regularly reported statistics, and then connecting data points to reach a reasonable conclusion.
And yet in the Town of Hay River, the answer seems to be far less than obvious.
The and the municipality used to have monthly reports and presentations that were part of council meetings every month.
Those presentations offered statistics on the number of calls and types of crimes committed.
Being able to compare such figures from month to month or year to year is often helpful in determining if a community is safe from violence, theft or other harmful activities. ItSA国际影视传媒檚 not as involved as citizen-driven Police Services Boards that municipalities commonly have in Southern Ontario, but it was at least something local residents could count on.
Yet at least since November, when fatal drug overdoses hit the community (not to mention other outrageous incidents like molotov cocktails repeatedly thrown at the same home or a shooting taking place in neighbouring Fort Smith) such statistics have been nowhere to be found in councilSA国际影视传媒檚 monthly packages.
To get any information, reporters count on the blessings of the police to provide an advisory and/or residents affected by crime willing to speak on record.
To be sure, there is little doubt that the drops a line to the mayor, council and administration now and again and may even provide up-to-date statistics on paper.
The problem is that the public hasnSA国际影视传媒檛 seen those numbers in months and thereSA国际影视传媒檚 next to no oversight from citizens.
WhatSA国际影视传媒檚 more, the detachment commander hasnSA国际影视传媒檛 visited/been invited (depending on who you ask) to a local government meeting since 2020, according to an email the Hub received from Insp. Barry Larocque earlier this month.
Instead, itSA国际影视传媒檚 been left to the Office of the Chief Public Health Officer (CPHO) in Yellowknife to issue a public advisory on Feb. 24 to point out that SA国际影视传媒楬ey, unnamed South Slave community, you might have a drug problem on your hands.SA国际影视传媒�
And even on that point we canSA国际影视传媒檛 get agreement.
Longtime residents, including those who watch the drug trade in broad daylight, and town councillors agree that itSA国际影视传媒檚 probably the worst situation theySA国际影视传媒檝e ever seen. The police donSA国际影视传媒檛 use the term SA国际影视传媒榙rug crisisSA国际影视传媒� so therefore have no comment on the matter. The CPHO seems to take a middle ground where there could be a SA国际影视传媒榙rug crisis,SA国际影视传媒� but it all depends on oneSA国际影视传媒檚 perspective.
This editorial space has complained about dwindling police presence at council before, pointing to the City of Yellowknife in the summer of 2020 when monthly reports suddenly stopped showing up in council packages and detachment inspectors were no longer talking to/being invited to council.
By all appearances the same thing appears to be happening here.
And yet having a regular public face from the to answer questions on the townSA国际影视传媒檚 drug trade is crucial now, especially as the town attempts to cobble together a social issues committee by summer to respond to the horrific impacts of drugs and those leaching off the vulnerable.
We remain hopeful that as the terms of reference are developed for the municipalitySA国际影视传媒檚 new committee that it will lead to more visibility from law enforcement and better accountability to residents who want to see any and all illicit drug presence rooted out and extinguished.
