POLICE MIGHT AS WELL WEAR FAST-FOOD UNIFORM

A Province letter writer asked why the police seemingly allow drug
dealers to ply their trade openly on the street near his work site.

Vancouver is like a tall, well-dressed businessman standing over a
urinal. Looking up, you see splendor; down and you see the reality of
the street. Add to this scene an under-staffed janitorial service run
by an absent landlord and the mess grows.

And, the courts have ensured that a police uniform holds all the
authority of those worn by workers at Taco Bell or McDonald's.

Dealers do not fear police because the police are simply the
enforcement arm of a court system that refuses to enforce.

The courts dictate the terms of engagement. But "his honour" will
never leap from a car and fight with a dealer, or spend 11 hours in a
urine-soaked laneway that every cop knows so well.

Yet, his honour has been deemed the most qualified to interpret the
book of rules.

So, the letter writer has walked a foot in the shoes of a city cop and
doesn't like it. Too bad because it's policy, but it most certainly is
not the policy of the Vancouver Police Department!

Carolyn Moore

Pitt Meadows