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Saskatchewan Justice in chaos: The Stonechild report suggests
it is | Larry
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of report | Hartwig
and Senger | Atchison in 2005
Leanne Bellegarde
Daniels
Bellegarde Daniels resigns
position with police board
Rod Nickel, The StarPhoenix,
November 07, 2003
Police commission chair Leanne
Bellegarde Daniels backed up her opposition to Mayor Don Atchison's
policing vision with her resignation, charging that his changes
will alienate the aboriginal community.
Bellegarde Daniels, the only
aboriginal chair in the police commission's history, aimed squarely
at Atchison and his vision in unexpectedly announcing her departure
late Thursday afternoon.
"I found the view that
the mayor expressed of policing very disturbing," she said.
"In particular, my concern
is the aboriginal people in this community. Saskatoon does not
have a good track record with aboriginal-police relations."
Atchison also "directly
challenged" her role as chair during the campaign, she said,
by promising to take over the position.
Bellegarde Daniels had planned
to return as chair this month from her leave of absence, but
said she reconsidered to spare the commission internal conflict.
She said in a phone conversation
with Atchison, "he remained adamant about a focus on increased
law enforcement, cracking down on the thugs, on increased dog
patrols on 19th, 20th and 21st (streets)," she said. "He
remained of the view that the more law enforcement there was
the safer people would feel and (he) didn't recognize the need
to attack the other contributors to crime."
Those factors include poverty
and a poor impression of police, she said.
Atchison said he was "floored"
to receive Bellegarde Daniels' resignation, although she was
unlikely to remain on the commission next year.
He doesn't believe his policing
vision will alienate aboriginal people.
"Their job is to provide
law and order for all citizens of Saskatoon.
"I don't think any person,
regardless of where they live, wants to have crime in their community.
I don't understand this because it doesn't matter where you live,
you want a home that's safe to live in. You want to be able to
walk down the streets and be safe at night. I don't care what
culture you're from."
Asked how she knows community
policing is working, Bellegarde Daniels said there are better
indicators than just crime statistics.
"It's the feeling of people
on the street, I think it's their reassurance and contact with
police officers not only in times of crisis."
She said in a phone conversation
with Atchison, "he remained adamant about a focus on increased
law enforcement, cracking down on the thugs, on increased dog
patrols on 19th, 20th and 21st (streets)," she said. "He
remained of the view that the more law enforcement there was
the safer people would feel and (he) didn't recognize the need
to attack the other contributors to crime."
Those factors include poverty
and a poor impression of police, she said.
Atchison said he was "floored"
to receive Bellegarde Daniels' resignation, although she was
unlikely to remain on the commission next year.
He doesn't believe his policing
vision will alienate aboriginal people.
"Their job is to provide
law and order for all citizens of Saskatoon.
"I don't think any person,
regardless of where they live, wants to have crime in their community.
I don't understand this because it doesn't matter where you live,
you want a home that's safe to live in. You want to be able to
walk down the streets and be safe at night. I don't care what
culture you're from."
Asked how she knows community
policing is working, Bellegarde Daniels said there are better
indicators than just crime statistics.
"It's the feeling of people
on the street, I think it's their reassurance and contact with
police officers not only in times of crisis."
Progress of the last three
years includes the police service adopting employment equity
and cultural awareness training, she said. The north Saskatoon
neighbourhood of McNab Park also showed gains curbing crime through
the community approach, she said.
Saskatoon Tribal Council Chief
Glenn Johnstone said he's sorry Bellegarde Daniels is leaving
the commission she had served for two years.
Recent community policing initiatives
had given aboriginal people more confidence in dealing with officers,
he said.
"I think nobody wants
to go back to the way it was."
The move opens the door for
Atchison to take over as commission chair and, ironically, may
speed his agenda to redirect police strategy.
The commission meets Nov. 20
and will have to decide on a new chair before it does anything
else. Considering that most of the remaining commissioners also
support community policing, it's no sure thing that Atchison
will take the helm.
Atchison also wants to reduce
the number of civilian appointments to the commission from four
to two, giving the three council members on the commission a
majority.
Former mayor Jim Maddin, who
dropped in at Bellegarde Daniels' announcement, would see many
of his own reforms undone by Atchison's police agenda.
"I don't think this community
wholeheartedly is going to embrace a return to high-handed, kick-ass
policing," Maddin said. "I have a chill up and down
my spine when I think how policing may be encouraged to go in
this city.
"What I hear causes me
a lot of concern because I think policing is going to backslide
in this town and alienate people."
The mayor's ideas have a warmer
reception from the city police association.
Vice-president Dave Haye said
rank-and-file members like Atchison's promise to get more officers
on the street, although they're waiting to hear details.
"We believe the police
commission stepped too far in their vision of policing and operational
needs suffered," he said.
Haye said he doesn't agree
that changing course will damage relations with Natives.
"Safer communities are
in everybody's benefit."
© Copyright 2003 The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon)
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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
