Let sheriffs handle traffic safety, enforcement: BCGEU
Posted August 2, 2012 12:04 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – The BCGEU thinks it has a way to make roads safer and bring in money. But the government keeps turning down a proposal to give sheriffs the ability to be used for traffic safety and enforcement.
A similar plan has proven to be successful in Alberta.
Dean Purdy, Chair of Corrections for the BCGEU, explains 14 deputy sheriffs already trained alongside police officers at the justice institute in 2010. “It was going to be a pilot project that was supposed to start in 2011. For some reason, it went off the rails. So, we’re trying to get it back on track.”
He thinks the public would be in favour of it for many reasons.
“They would agree to a revenue-generating proposal to put sheriffs on the road, to make roads safer, and to shore up the police to take on the more serious crimes like gangs and shootings and that kind of stuff,” he argues.
In Alberta, the program has brought in $180 million. Purdy thinks it would generate the same amount here.
“It was so successful in Alberta that they doubled the number of sheriffs within the first year on the road,” he adds.
The other plan the BCGEU is trying to pass is to open government liquor stores on Sundays. Between the two, Purdy thinks it could bring it a third of a billion dollars. He’s unsure why the government keeps turning down this proposal.
There’s a rally at the Art Gallery during the lunch hour today to encourage other BCGEU workers to come support the cause.
This comes as the BCGEU announces more job action. On Tuesday staff will strike at several provincial offices, including one in Surrey.
