Kingston Police: Slowly Restoring Order on Aberdeen Street
We
have great respect for the Kingston police rank-and-file frontline
officers. But we perceive that there have been problems with the weak leadership and
vacillations of the previous Chief of Police regarding the policing of
Homecomings.
The
previous Chief of Police had many positive accomplishments to his
credit. But we believe his fumbling of the Homecoming ball will remain as an
ongoing blemish to his record. We believe that the mishandling of Homecoming in those formative first years has cost the city and taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars in extra policing required in recent years.
In
the fall of 2008, Stephen Tanner was appointed the new Chief
of Police. We welcome the fact that an outsider (from
Belleville--not too far outside) was appointed Chief, as the incumbents
of senior positions in the Kingston Police seemed
unwilling or unable to do their job of enforcing the law during
Homecoming. They appeared all too willing to sacrifice our neighbourhood to
lawlessness.
The
appointment of Chief Tanner provides an opportunity for a change of
direction. We hope that his appointment will signal a fresh start to
the enforcement of the law, so our neighbourhood near Queen's University
can enjoy the same quality of life as other parts of Kingston. So far, we note that the indications are positive.