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Stonechild: The
inquiry | Inquiry
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Darrell Night | Use index to
Saskatoon police stories at right to find the coverage from 5
years ago. Be prepared to settle in for an evening if you want
to read it all . . . See also Mayor
Maddin | Sermonette: November
12, 2004:
Saskatchewan Justice in chaos: The Stonechild report suggests
it is | Larry
Lockwood
| Chief
Sabo
| Deputy
Chief Dan Wiks lied to the media | Police response to release of
report | Hatchen
and Munson trial | Stan Goertzen
| Atchison 2005
Larry Lockwood:
Seething with resentment See
also Police and 8th Street Cruisers
Fired or retired shortly after
this photo was taken last summer, Larry Lockwood was loyal to
the Old Boys' Club even if he was not allowed into its inner
sanctum.
He has taken any lifting of
the blue curtain of silence as a personal attack upon his tribe.
In this instance, he arrested Richard Klassen on 8th Street and,
had him locked in the back of a police car where he took the
opportunity to harangue about what he considered to be injustices
against his former comrades-in-arms: Dueck, Hatchen and Munson.
He raged against Darrell Night
and told Richard Klassen he thought he was guilty of the crimes
Dueck charged him with.
On November 6, 2004, the Star
Phoenix reported that Lockwood, along with a police chaplain
had organized the "show of support" for Larry Hartwig
and Brad Senger.
Stan Goertzen, head of the
Police Association, claimed the demonstration of support for
the officers, who were fired yesterday, November 12, was "spontaneous."
If Lockwood's supervisor had
not come by and ordered Lockwood to release and unarrest Klassen,
we can only speculate where his spontaneity would have led him.
Disclosure on this file shows
Lockwood states "Klassen was acting like he wanted to be
shot." This phrase has apparently turned up in other disclosure
on arrests ov Klassen for traffic violations.
When tensions are high in the
community it is the responsibility of the police to remain calm.
The findings from the Stonechild inquiry and the Klassen/Kvello
civil trial show that in 1991, the Saskatoon Police were out
of control. Files were lost and grim police act crimes were done.
The public wants to know what
really happened. Chief Russell Sabo had no choice but to fire
Hartwig and Senger just as he had no choice but to suspend Deputy
Chief Wiks. We could all calm down if we had any confidence they
were going to tell the truth forthrightly and change their ways.
We don't want "group think"
and we don't need "group amnesia." It just doesn't
work.
The internet has a long and
accurate memory.
Police policies leading
to more crime
Larry Lockwood, Special
to The StarPhoenix, December 29, 2004
The following is the viewpoint
of the writer, a city resident and a retired member of the Saskatoon
Police Service.
The Saskatoon police service's
annual reports, published between 1997 and 2003, indicate crimes
against persons and property (excluding impaired driving, drug
offences and prostitution charges) have increased dramatically
-- particularly since 2001 -- under the current police administration.
Between 1997 and 2002 the growth
in crime against persons and property increased to 23,728, from
23,615 reported incidents -- a difference of 113 offences in
five years. This represents a total increase of 0.48 per cent
(0.096 per cent per year).
In the year 2002-2003, however,
the incidents of crimes against persons and property climbed
to 26,273 reported offences -- an increase of 15.52 per cent.
Under the previous police administration,
the largest annual growth between 1997 and 2001 occurred in the
year 1999-2000, when crimes against persons and property increased
by 2.43 per cent. That stands in contrast to the record of this
administration, with a rate 6.38 times greater.
In 2002 and 2003, the number
of murders is up 33.33 per cent, attempted murders up by 50 per
cent, assaults by 4.73 per cent, armed robberies 69.27 per cent,
robberies (including muggings) up by 20.59 per cent, arson up
by 56.44 per cent, residential break and enters up 20.85 per
cent and at businesses up 52.21 per cent, motor-vehicle thefts
by 40.66 per cent and other thefts by 15.71 per cent and charges
for willful damage have increased by 21.40 per cent.
How serious are these increases?
If Chief Russell Sabo were to reduce the 15.52 per cent rate
of increase by even 50 per cent to 7.76 per cent, it would still
result in there being 35,425 crimes in four years -- a total
of 127,117 crimes in total between 2003-2007, or one crime for
every 1.66 persons in Saskatoon.
And I doubt the administration
could ever reach even this rate of slowed growth.
The police administration under
Sabo's guidance is rapidly losing control, and one can't blame
the rank and file or the police association. It is the policies
of this administration that are allowing for this dramatic increase
in crime.
Our police officers are already
stressed to the limit with the authorized strength of 355 officers.
If police numbers were to increase at a rate matching even the
lowest estimate of crime growth of 7.76 per cent, it would require
the hiring of an additional 27.38 officers per year, let alone
reduce crime.
If Sabo believes that changing
the hours of work for the rank and file will somehow lower the
number, he is wrong. If he feels that stripping the ranks to
fill passive police positions to implement his vision of community
policing initiatives (the same initiatives tried and discarded
as unworkable during the '70s, '80s and '90s), he is also wrong.
It is also wrong to believe
that bringing about retirements by creating dissension in the
department will do anything more than result in eliminating experience.
For example, five of us senior members retired this year with
a combined 151 years of police experience.
One of Sabo's acting inspectors
has less than four years of experience on the street.
When the police association
passed a motion of non-confidence in this chief and the former
board of police commissioners, it wasn't political posturing
it was because the members saw the writing on the wall, and we
knew what was about to befall the citizens of Saskatoon.
© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2004
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Truth can never be
told so as to be understood, and not be believ'd. William Blake, The Proverbs of Hell