MISSING WOMEN NOT MISSED RIGHT AWAY

AS the police considered whether to add five more women to the 50-strong
list of missing women from the Downtown Eastside last week, it is
interesting to note when they were last seen.

Why?

Quite simple really. The families had not reported them missing for years
since they were last seen. Years.

It is important to understand this to really understand why the police did
not pull out all the stops back in '94 or '95, as the armchair quarterbacks
like B.C. Liberal MLA Tony Bhullar would have you think they should.

It is all fine and dandy for family members to be shown, shedding crocodile
tears on various television news shows, as if these were normal women with
work-a-day lives. They weren't, and not by a long shot.

This is not to diminish the value of their lives. All life is precious.

Having said that, these were prostitutes engaged in one of the riskiest
businesses in one of the riskiest neighbourhoods in the country.

Many were also intravenous drug users. An activity which, coupled with
their other risky behaviour, gives them a life expectancy roughly
equivalent to a house pet. Am I being outrageous in saying that? No.
Between rough tricks, high-octane dope, dirty needles, despair-induced
depression and Neanderthal pimps, how high might you rate their potential
longevity?

Consider the cases of the five most recent additions: They were last seen
by their families, on average, over five years ago. Their bodies have not
turned up.

There is no recent evidence to indicate where, when, how or why they
disappeared.

So, what exactly were the police supposed to do?

Especially if the families didn't even notice they were gone for years.

Without minimizing theirs, or any loss of life, especially at the hands of
what can only be described as an animal disguised as a human being, these
are not suburban housewives who are missed as soon as they are late
returning from Safeway.

And, The Vancouver Sun, The Globe and Mail, CBC and BCCTV should stop
treating them as though they were saints and the police the devil incarnate.

On another topic, what is with Vancouver COPE Coun. Fred Bass and his call
to reinstitute photo radar in the City of Vancouver to combat - are you
ready for this - street racing.

How illogical, to say the least.

Photo radar is not an effective tool against street racing. I will see if I
can explain this in a simple manner so that Coun. Bass and his supporters
can understand.

Street racers have money. Photo radar is designed to be a tax on the road
for those who choose to exceed the speed limit.

Racers driving $50,000, $60,000, $70,000 high-performance cars aren't all
that concerned about a $150 fine.

Second, street racers drive performance cars. Photo radar cannot issue a
charge (ticket) when there are two vehicles in the same photograph.
High-performance cars in a race typically are mere inches from each other.

Finally, it would appear Coun. Bass hasn't got the faintest idea about the
difference between a ticket weeks later and an "at the time"
officer/violator contact.

Photo radar is nothing more than a toll on a highway.

Any police officer who buys into the BS from the politicians about photo
radar is agreeing to be a tollbooth attendant, not a cop.

When the B.C. Liberals took power, it seemed this province had mercifully
seen the end of the mechanical tax on our roads portrayed as a police
enforcement tool. It seems the tax is really coveted by local politicians.

If they want to actually do something about street racing or high-speed
chases, perhaps they should look at ways to fund a helicopter. Photo radar
is nothing, and I mean nothing, but a mobile tollbooth. And the biggest
problem is the toll is not even asked for until several weeks after the
road has been travelled.