MULTIPLE MURDERS RAISE HO-HUMS FROM MINISTERS

Premier, S-G Must Stop Playing It Down

The gangland warfare gripping Metro Vancouver has tragically cost the
lives of several innocent bystanders and shocked the region with its savagery.

But judging by the way the province's top cop is happily twirling his
nightstick, you'd think we'd seen a rash of jaywalking instead of 10
gang-related homicides in 21/2 weeks.

"All the drama around them aside, the unfortunate fact is that we've
had that level of homicides in Vancouver for a number of years,"
Solicitor-General John Les said yesterday.

Yup, move along folks, nothing to see here. I'd hate to see his
reaction if it really started to get dangerous out there.

Premier Gordon Campbell likewise played down the murderous mayhem.

"I think it's important for people to know that you can still drive
around," he said.

Yeah, especially if you have bulletproof windows and avoid those
restaurants where the mob bosses hang out.

Not that we should overreact, of course. After all, any big city with
a wide-open drug culture, porous borders and a "justice" system where
you can literally get away with murder is bound to have the
occasional spasm of death and bloodshed, right?

But you'd think once the body count hits double digits inside a
month, even the politicians would sit up and take notice.

Sure, Vancouver's overall murder rate is holding steady.

But listen to frustrated police and they'll tell you the reality
behind the statistics: Gang-related attempted murders, assaults and
shootings are all up sharply.

Les, however, hasn't had a good week when it comes to listening to
his own cops -- especially the refreshingly outspoken Kash Heed,
chief of the West Vancouver Police Department.

Heed wrote an editorial in the Vancouver Sun this week calling for a
consideration of regionalized policing to more effectively tackle
organized crime.

The patchwork of small municipal departments and RCMP detachments
means each police force "operates within its own silo of
self-interest," Kash wrote.

This is a remarkable thing for a municipal police chief to say: The
guy is effectively arguing for the elimination of his own job to
serve the greater good, and he should be complimented for doing it.

But, incredibly, Les slapped Kash around like an unco-operative
witness, calling the chief's ideas "out of line" and "inappropriate."
(With "an unwelcome distraction" and "a red herring" thrown in for
good measure.)

Since when is it "out of line" for a cop to suggest a better way to
serve and protect the public?

Les's response: He hasn't met a single mayor from a municipality with
its own police force that supports amalgamation.

Of course he hasn't! What mayor wouldn't want to pick up the phone
and call his own police chief when some voter's cat is stuck up a
tree? Parochial interests shouldn't drive policy when lives are on the line.

Instead of the shrugs and cheap shots, Les and Campbell could both do
a better job standing up for citizens understandably concerned by
this eruption of deadly and frightening violence.