All those thefts from vehicles? Police 'working on it,' chief says
Tuesday, October 30, 2012 by: Darren Taylor
Sault Ste. Marie Police Chief Bob Davies says crime is down in the community and he hopes for an increase for the Sault Police Service in the 2013 budget.
Chief Davies told SooToday.com after the regular monthly meeting of the Police Service Board today, “Overall, crimes are down … We hope to come in for a very slight increase in our budget for 2013.”
Davies said, “We saved money in the cost for our officers to attend court. That has been down significantly, but when you look at our security obligations, assigning staff to provide security in the courthouses, especially this year with the preliminary hearings of the three co-accused in the Hallam homicide, the cost to us in providing security is up.”
Despite a decrease in crime in general, Davies noted a recent rash in smash and grabs from motor vehicles parked in shopping mall parking lots.
Davies said items stolen from vehicles typically include laptops, GPS devices and purses.
He commented: “We’re working on it. We’re doing surveillance, we have plain cars out there trying to catch the thieves in the act.”
Still, Chief Davies urged the public to take extra care when leaving their vehicles parked and ensure their vehicles are locked, both in shopping mall parking lots and in the driveway, especially with Christmas shopping season soon to arrive.
“We are asking citizens to be a little more vigilant and remove their valuable articles from plain view so that criminals aren’t as tempted to break into their vehicles.”
Chief Davies says officers are also aware of aggressive drivers and some areas where they are commonly spotted.
“We get a lot of complaints about aggressive drivers like speeders, drivers going through red lights, drivers talking on cell phones while driving, but we are out there,” he warned.
“On a good day we have several traffic enforcement cars out there in locations like McNabb Street and Carmen’s Way and Conmee Avenue, and target aggressive drivers.”
Davies said the increased Police budget proposal for 2013 will likely be brought forward at the board’s next public meeting.
banshee_bob 10/30/2012 8:07:50 PM ReportFirst of all, Chief Davies, you should be ashamed of your comments.
You say that overall crime is down, but the public won't believe you while there is so much property crime going on. 21 thefts from vehicles in one day? Good thing crime is down. Then you hint on how it may be the Public's fault by leaving articles in vehicles. Shame, shame!
Your officers are trying to catch the burglars in act with plain dressed cars? You really think that is going to work? There is over 35 000 plain cars in the Sault, and most of them are watching for burglars too. You may want to take a different approach.
Also, you ask the public to be more vigilant against this type of crime by removing items from the cars. I think the public should be more vigilant by beating the hell out of the perpetrators, then letting your officers handle the paper work.
You mention the "recent rash of in smash and grabs from motor vehicles parked in shopping mall parking lots, but you dont mention the horror some residents have lived in the recent home invasions. This is the type of offence in which people get killed, perpetrators and victims alike.
You say that criminals are "tempted" to steal when they see items that they may want. I think these criminals are intent on stealing and simply find a qualifying vehicle or house to rob.
Finally, I am going to say this; I will be more vigilant. But not by cleaning my truck out every night. I will continue to post articles against these dirtbags who are committing crimes, and the ones who aren't doing their corresponding jobs of arresting and sentencing the perps, and keeping them out of circulation. Vigilance will be better demonstrated in an old school matter. You cut off the hand that steals, so to speak.
Wake up, and get to work. Don't let the people of this city do your dirty work. We are busy enough.
moem 10/30/2012 8:34:18 PM ReportI'm sure that he has stats to back it up, call and ask for them, and he's right you're an idiot if you leave valuables out and doors unlocked!! Posting comments won't do a damn thing to decrease crime, it's a much bigger and more complex problem maybe citizens here should do some of the proactive things bigger communities do. Some of the home invasions mentioned on here have stated medications were taken and perpetrators were known to victims that's a whole other issue!!! People do need to be vigilant and take responsibility for themselves... As for crime being up, that is likely public perception and media hype, think about it, prior to this online stuff if a crime happened after the paper went to press it didn't always get mentioned, businesses should also be more active, in Toronto there are task forces set up in various divisions that are made up of residents, business owners, city council, police, municipal licensing, transit, alcohol and gaming and Toronto hydro, they do community safety walks, they look at exterior lighting, they look at business exteriors etc, be proactive posting comments to "dirt bags and police won't do a damn thing!!!
JustMe1234567 10/30/2012 9:06:11 PM ReportI don't agree with "banshee_bob's" post. I think undercover cars are a good idea. Unless the thieves are caught in the act, how can you ever catch them? Sadly once they are caught to others come along to fill their place?
"moem" had a lot of good points, but I don't think crime is down, maybe 'certain' types of crimes are down, the Chief should have clarified that with some hard facts. I totally don't agree that it seems worse now because we get news on the internet. Sootoday has been around for 10 years, that isn't so new.
Just my opinion.
banshee_bob 10/30/2012 9:14:36 PM Report"JustMe" - I didn't say that under cover cars are a bad idea, I stated that they are not the answer to catching these criminals. Its like finding a needle in a haystack.
Cops think that they may be able to see these home invasions or car robberies just by being in the right place at the right time... That's ridiculous.
They should impose a city-wide curfew. This way, it gives them reasonable grounds to approach minors if they are on the streets past a given time without a good excuse. It seems to work in Soo Michigan.
Just saying..
trill_nita 10/30/2012 9:16:37 PM Reportsave the money and just change the rules a bit...who needs the police to help solve thefts...from what one can find out on facebook or through word of mouth, let alone catch the person in the act... we can handle justice ourselves...however we need the law to turn their heads a bit when it comes to how we get our goods back and deal with these individuals who like to help themselves to others property...i think that our community needs to come together and take back our streets and fight against crime rather than sitting back waiting for the justice system to give us positive results or any results for that matter..and them complain about the police..thats a waste of time right there except for ins purposes....
B Boy 10/30/2012 9:17:16 PM ReportIs crime down or is reporting crime down?
I've recently casually interviewed 44 people - of those almost 30 experienced a crime (vandalism, shed or car broken into) which is 68%. Of those only 2 actually reported it to the police. Those who didn't report it unanimously had the same reason - when they've spoken with the police in the past they were spoken down to, not taken seriously and they all felt that calling the police would just make the experience worse and would accomplish nothing.
I personally had to call the police 4 times - my house was paintballed, my shed and car were broken into. When I made a complaint that nothing was being done they could only find 1 actual report out of my 4 separate incidents. Does that mean the police only reported 25% of my crimes???
For the record, they never showed up for any of my calls.
My cousin's car was stolen out of his garage. There were obvious finger prints on the garage door and window they broke to gain entry. Maybe if the police had showed up to that call and dusted for prints they could have caught someone who had just stolen a $45,000 truck or linked a few other crimes. But nope- they only took the report over the phone.
KDawg 10/30/2012 9:20:46 PM ReportDavies said, “We saved money in the cost for our officers to attend court. That has been down significantly, but when you look at our security obligations, assigning staff to provide security in the courthouses, especially this year with the preliminary hearings of the three co-accused in the Hallam homicide, the cost to us in providing security is up.”
If the police department saved money because fewer officers had to attend court, that necessarily means that they're making fewer arrests that they need to go to court for.
Given the number of break & enters and petty thefts in this town, that's pretty sad.
B Boy 10/30/2012 9:23:22 PM ReportI tried to get involved in a neighbourhood watch meeting at the police station in 2004 - we were kicked out and told the police don't want anything to do with that group.
Where's the citizens on patrol program?
Auxiliary policing program?
Community consultation program?
Phone patrol program?
Proactive foot patrol program?
Many people have wanted to get involved or even try to be the solution but have been stopped.
BlackHelix 10/30/2012 9:25:11 PM Report@JustMe
How can you say in one sentence that you don't THINK crime is down and the in the next, ask for "hard facts" against the opposing idea? I agree, if you want to fully believe Chief Davies, you would need to have the proper facts - but you can't tell someone to provide evidence for their claim, and then make a claim without evidence.
Tender34 10/30/2012 9:30:25 PM ReportWorking on it? I've heard that before. My vehicle was broke into along with 100 other vehicles on one night a few years ago. The police did nothing. I, however, asked some kids in the neighbourhood if they had heard anything and found out exactly who had done it because they were, of course, bragging about it. Minors can do that because there is no consequence for them. I provided the evidence, and the names and addresses of the young criminals. Nothing was done. Nothing will be done this time if they are minors. Thank you for the Young Offenders Act.
Prrrrrrr 10/30/2012 10:01:08 PM ReportWe need a curfew and people need to stop advertising their property...why make it easy for them!!!
moem 10/30/2012 11:26:32 PM ReportI agree if you want to claim crime is up prove it!! Curfews won't stop mall thefts in cars! Surveys are not empirical really and you can pretty much get whatever results you want from them....as for the officers spending less time in court, that doesn't necessarily mean fewer arrests, it could also mean more plea bargains, possibly as a result of good evidence and good police work, or it could be fewer arrests because crime is down overall as he said
And you know what 5 people shot in Toronto in the last 8 hrs in the north end of the city alone, so stop whining and count your blessings!!!
GuitarHero99 10/30/2012 11:28:39 PM ReportI agree. Big changes. The police in this city make me sick. Last time I called, they didn't even show up - so how can "crime be down"? It's BS and people should /have to take matters into their own hands. they want a raise?!?! Are you KIDDING ME?!?! Try doing your job first.
JustMe1234567 10/30/2012 11:43:21 PM ReportBlackHelix- I'm not saying it's the chiefs fault, maybe the reporter should of asked for some numbers or more specifics...some kind of annual report comes out from them anyway...my point was that the internet is not responsible for the perception that there is more crime these days...oh forget it.
Soo Michigan has a curfew? I didn't know that. Anyone know the details about it?
Bad Dawg 10/31/2012 12:14:18 AM Reportwhat a load of crap of blaming innocent citizens because some IDIOT parent didn't teach their kids not to take something that is not theirs.
N1T5 101 10/31/2012 2:51:51 AM ReportIf I remember correctly this is Sault Ste Marie not Toronto. Idiot
Ricatoni 10/31/2012 3:20:52 AM ReportThe curfew would work for these juvenials so whats the hold up Davies?? Get your butt in gear and get it implemented...... Also you need to do more with less just like the rest of us.. havnt you heard...times are tuff right now!!! if you think that your police force needs more money thats to bad... I say, if your asking for more money then we should audit you on what your doing with the money we already give you.. millions going out the window on what court costs??? like how much money is being spent on this ???? sorry to say it but petty crime is way worse today then it was say five years ago.And it isnt getting any better I might add.....regardless of what you might say..Your answer is always we need more money for this and more money for that...Yea we all neeed more money problem is we are not getting more are we ....If city councill thinks they can justify to the tax payers increases for the police while everyone else is getting nothing then they better go shake each others heads before they even think of about it....... I mean comon now times are tuff for everyone..... except the cops???????? who I might add are mostly all on in the sunshine club already....Just Doesnt add up to me sorry ...
Snowdon 10/31/2012 5:41:54 AM ReportA curfew hahaha.
Awesome idea! Punish EVERYONE because of the criminal actions of a few.
I've got some other great ideas due to crime - no one can buy anything that may be used in a crime without purchasing a licence for it first.
Doing construction work? Sorry, better get a licence before you get any tools. Can't risk you buying a crowbar and breaking in somewhere.
Have a car? No driving it between the hours of 10 PM and 6 AM - most drunk driving happens then and we can't allow you to be a part of that.
Honestly, the knee-jerk ridiculous reactions of some commenters on this site never ceases to amaze me.
Literally EVERY person in any position of authority is derided by the commenters on here for trying to do their job. Everyone does a terrible job and is to blame for their specific issue.
Give me a break.
polaris 10/31/2012 6:28:22 AM Reportlol!
A curfew for everyone 60 and younger would probably help. Not all thefts are committed by minors.
B Boy 10/31/2012 6:58:23 AM ReportIt's funny that the chief mentions police guarding the court - how many prisoner escapes were there again? There was even 1 recently.
Comparing SSM crime to Toronto crime doesn't work in plain numbers. You need to break it down to per capita and the last time that was done there wasn't such a big difference as you'd expect. Of course Toronto has more murder, there's 2 million more people.
In 2011 Toronto had 44 murders - 0.000022 per capita.
In 2011 SSM had 3 murders - 0.000040 per capita.
Statistically, per capita SSM was worse.
Snowdon 10/31/2012 8:07:38 AM ReportWhich simply shows that a couple incidents can greatly skew the results from year to year.
In 2009, Toronto was 60-some positions worse than the Soo in the Violent Crime Severity Index. In 2011 the Soo was a handful of spots worse than Toronto.
The comparison of the Soo and Toronto make no sense for a different reason than size - they've traditionally both been around the same spot in terms of crime and violent crime - which is to say middle of the pack.
!@# 10/31/2012 8:09:03 AM ReportYou people are all idiots!! no really !! Blaming the police for the crime. This is absurd!! Criminals are smart...they stake out homes for weeks, months before such acts. I will bet that quite a few people see suspicious people hanging around and do nothing about it....really. I think most people would rather NOT get involved and assist than report such activity. But blaming police for it...crazy. Where are the parents/guardians...where are your children people!! And just to let you know...one of the car thefts happened to a friend of mine....he dropped his keys in his drive way on the way in to his house....and the truck was stolen...dah!! Support the police not condemn them (and NO i am not a police officer).
B Boy 10/31/2012 8:48:05 AM ReportI’m not blaming the police for the crime. I’m attributing the lack of criminal declination to lacklustre, antiquated and disengaged policing programs.
For instances – if a crime is committed and there’s no visible or tangible response to it then that criminal feels safe in what they’ve done. Typically this leads to an escalation of criminal patterning.
Regular citizens are wanting and willing to get involved to help - but other than "be more vigilant" what community policing programs does the SSM police service have to do so?
There's a police auction on Nov 3 and a crime prevention seminar on impaired driving on Nov 7.
outcrop 10/31/2012 8:53:56 AM ReportYoung offenders are protected and they know it..their names should be allowed to be printed in the news!! to protect and make aware of the neighborhood of which they come from. Not saying that all the breakins are done by jubies.
nobodycares 10/31/2012 9:00:44 AM ReportAgain, the problem is with the punishment, You read about the same persons committing crimes. Sometimes within days of each other.
Why are these people back on the street.
If there are no consequences to their actions, the crimimals will continue committing break and enters
Rack 10/31/2012 9:02:20 AM ReportI don't give a rat's behind about what the police are doing about theft from vehicles. In my opinion, we should all be smart and remove valuables from our cars. I am however, scared to death hearing about all the recent home invasions, and am only concerned about what the police are doing about this issue. I have heard absolutely nothing about what they are doing to prevent these and apprehend these criminals.
Slick73 10/31/2012 9:02:53 AM ReportCourt costs would be way down if the repeat offenders were dealt with properly and put away for a while.
B Boy 10/31/2012 9:40:32 AM ReportOne thing I've noticed is that there's alot of complaining on sootoday but no real action.
I've put together an informal forum for people who want to take action to constructively discuss and formulate next steps.
http://ssmimprovement.freeforums.org
N1T5 101 10/31/2012 11:48:14 AM ReportYeah there is a few characters on here that make my day sometimes. I like to push their buttons and read their stupidity LOL glad to see some people are taking the initiative to protect themselves more than a lot of people do. Come on here leave a few comments about how the city should pull up its socks and whatever these people can cry about. (Read that last paragraph with sarcasm and you'll understand) lol
K.Lauren 10/31/2012 12:24:05 PM ReportB-Boy - I've never posted here before, but I came out of lurking because of your post on the forum you created. Good for you for attempting to improve the city from a citizen's standpoint. More people should take action this way. I love the Sault, but I feel as though a lot of people have become jaded or just complacent with what goes on, whether it's police matters, city council issues or just day-to-day lack of forward progress. This is the first step to making change. I hope people are responsive to your idea.
ttb 10/31/2012 11:44:41 PM ReportThey didnt catch the car thieves because they were busy giving me a ticket cause one of my truck tires was on the sidewalk. When I saw the ticket I LAUGHED AND LAUGHED. Then I paid it but Im still pissed
ttb 10/31/2012 11:58:27 PM Reportseriously though, nothing is worse than using
Lol twice in the same post, THAT should be a crime
LOL
Natty741 11/1/2012 3:49:35 AM ReportJust going to put this out there, someone mentioned finger printing. Couldn't this simple task perhaps solve at least a FEW of these issues? In the very least deter some people from stealing by dusting common areas that a thief would touch, such as doorknobs, car handles, glove box, steering wheel, window frames, etc....? Now, I don't know how it all works, what department is what etc... But it seems it could be so much simpler! In way way :P. if anyone could possibly clarify this theory for me this would be great lol. (I post to learn, not to argue or fight FTR.,!)
