Environics Survey

[wilagro]

I don't usually respond to requests for informations when queried by telephone survey groups. However, I did participate in an 'Environics' survey about crime and law enforcement. Towards the end of the survey were two questions that I believe were the actual focus of the survey. I was asked if I favoured the creation of an 'Alberta Provincial Police Force' and secondly, if I was in favour of 'Privatized' jails in this province.
The PC's have kicked these ideas around before and did not get a good enough response so they were set aside for future consideration.
Seems like they are trying again to get some kind of support.

I for one do not want any 'Alberta Storm Troopers'. I can see it all: "Ex-Officio gets appointed to 'Top Cop' position".
I definitely do not want some, (most likely American), private group running our jails. This nothing but a Union busting move and nothing more.

Everytime that the Alberta Gov't has some dispute with the Feds, (health, energy, agriculture, young offenders act, etc.), they start this B.S. about 'we're a goin'a do it our way'.

How do you all feel about these issues?

[cowman]

Personally I think it would be great to have a provincial police force. It would be one more small step of seperating ourselves from our eastern masters. Why should we have police officers who are from Quebec or down east? Why not have Alberta boys policing Alberta? Now I'm not completely knocking the mounties but they do take their orders from the federal government. They are the State police of a nation that has exploited us mercilessly. If the Alberta government ever got the guts to openly defy Ottawa, say on something like the gun law or the CWB act, who do you think they would take their marching orders from?
As far as prisons go I guess if a private company could run the prison cheaper and be just as safe, why not? That is what has happened to a lot of government industries and I think it has mainly been a positive experience? I can remember the days when government handled licensing and you waited literally hours to get your license. Now it costs you a couple of bucks but the girls are quick, efficient, and friendly (and good looking!)...instead of slow, lazy, rude and ugly like when it was a government agency! And if it results in the prison guards union being busted the only ones who care are the prison guards. Most people in Alberta don't have a lot of use for unions. I think if we could get rid of the teachers and doctors unions we'd all be a lot better off(they like to pretend they don't have unions so they call them "associations"...sort of like how the Hells Angels call themselves "motorcycle club" instead of organized crime!!)

[Deb]

No way should Alberta have its own police force. No way should prisons be privately run.

[rodbradshaw]

I don't have problem with having our own police force as over two thirds of the province is already policed by municipalities with their own police force (Calgary, Edmonton and etc). The only condition is that it would have to have an intergrated information system so we don't end up like the pig farm situation in BC.
Privatized jails would not be that bad of a deal as long as they maintain certain standards. The best place for these would be Baffin Island. You would only need shelter as no one is going to walk out, and if they did they may be of some use to society.Life today in most jails is to easy. Their should be a system that represents the real world and these inmates should be used to working at least an 8 hour day and then taking programs after that to help with things like drug addiction and other anti social tendencies.

Deb, just a question, are you in favour of anything that means change? Change for the sake of change is not necessarily good, but the world is changing and like the Oak tree you must bend with the wind or it will break you.

[cakadu]

Prisons in the US are privately run, hence operate a little differently than they do up here. The order of the day in the prisons up here is "corrective action" which is a process that gets the prisoner better equipped to handle life on the outside. How effective it will be remains to be seen.

The prison guardshere have broken away from their union - PSAC, because it covers everything from the office clerk to the dock loader at the Vancouver port and they weren't negotiating on behalf of the guards.

Too much emphasis is put on the prisoner and not enough anywhere else and there are far too many bleeding hearts out there that want the prisoners afforded more rights than you or I have on the outside. It costs roughly $55,000/year to house each of these guys, depending on the security level they are at ie minimum, medium or maximum security.

Working in a jail is a totally negative environment and is not pleasant. The only thing a guard has when they walk out, if they can cut it long enough, is a pension. They put in as much time or more than the actual inmates.

Should the inmates be forced to live in conditions like the Gulag? I don't know, but maybe if things were a little nastier on the inside, people would think twice.

[Deb]

I don't like change that gives more control and power to the uncompassionate morons of the world, you know, people like Ralph Klein and George Bush. I'm familiar with Quebec Provincial Police and American State troopers. They are not the brightest and I suspect, completely corruptable (not that all RCMP and FBI/CIA have society's best interests at heart). As far as U.S. style for-profit prisons, I disagree with for-profit anything that takes advantage of vulnerable people like the sick, the poor, the hungry, those in jail (one is very vulnerable in jail, I hear, unless you are the most violent and strong). If we want to save money, we need to be sending fewer people to jail. How? We need to make sure they have no cause to do violent, hateful things. How do we do that? We should be putting our money into seeing that children are raised in love and taught tolerance and understanding.

I go for any change that will make people feel better about themselves and in turn, begin to heal others. I go for any change that will allow people's eyes to open to the fact that if we keep fighting what is natural, what are the rules of life, we will lose big-time, in the end, no matter how clever we think we are being.